(Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.)
Ultimately, the sacrifices from the hard-working family members grow a sense of entitlement in the others. They learn that they can happily sit on their tooshie and wait for the bread-winning sibling’s money to come flowing in, and even if they’re aware that that sibling is struggling with minimum wage jobs, that doesn’t change a thing; they’ve learned that they can act entitled without consequence.
I grew up in an extremely hard-working and extremely generous family. That meant that money was always coming in, but it was always going out as well. My grandpa was so generous and thoughtless with money that he would regularly throw hundreds out to random labor worker guys who looked like they needed to go get lunch, and he was always bailing family members out of trouble. Ultimately, that left him and my family with far less money than he’d originally worked for. Turns out, when you’re a single person trying to financially support 30 others, you’re going to end up with $0 at the end of the month.
Bless his soul, he remained so generous and kind until the end of his days, passing along his sense of morality and work ethic to his successors. Now, my father is the same way, working 60-hour+ weeks to put food on the table for everybody, and I mean everybody. Most of my stepmom’s family doesn’t work, and guess who’s the one pulling the slack, paying the bills, and making sure everyone is all good? But that’s just what family does, right?
You know what family doesn’t do? They don’t take advantage of one another when they see that it’s tearing down the strength of another loved one. That’s a level of entitlement that I’ll never understand, nor will I ever feed into it. Seeing the signs of a festering freeloader is enough for me to back off, and I’m glad that the 28-year-old sister in this next story decided to unshackle herself from the guilt and move forward with her own life. Apparently, she’s decided to study abroad and take on a new life in another country for a while; perhaps her independence and growth will inspire her siblings, who now all have degrees and the opportunities to succeed. When this eldest sibling comes home next time, she’ll hopefully be welcomed by an appreciative bunch of mature adults who will recognize her sacrifices.
