You must learn to move on from your mean, greedy sister

Dear Annie: I am one of 13 siblings. Both of our parents have been sick for the past four years. At one time, we had a family meeting, and everyone agreed to pay $20 a week for a caregiver, since we all worked.

But slowly, my siblings started to bail out. The first to go was their favourite (and ungrateful) daughter.

Dad died three months ago.

It was hard on those of my sisters who gave up their weekends to care for my folks and put their families on the back burner in order to do the right thing by our parents.

Meanwhile, the ungrateful daughter and another sister were listed as beneficiaries on Dad’s life insurance policy.

We talked to them about leaving the money to Mom, who needed it, and suggested they give her at least half.

One sister did. The other, however, pocketed all of it. How can she live with herself? Why are some siblings so selfish? What can we do?

Saddened Sibling

Dear Sibling: We can’t explain why some kids turn out the way they do.

The psychological factors are too numerous to mention. Unfortunately, you cannot force your sister to return any of the money or to be gracious enough to give it to Mom.

Chalk it up to a frustrating and sad loss, not only of the money, but also of your closeness to your sister.

Annie’s Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column.