My mother and now, sister are hoarders.    It's a sickness
that I, long ago, learned not to fight any more.    It's their life, I
can't change it nor can I profess to walking a mile in their shoes.    I
can only live my life as it is...

Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted on
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 at 04:30 PM.


Relationship : Mother & Sister
Source : Oprah's web site
Message :

My mother and now, sister are hoarders.    It's a sickness
that I, long ago, learned not to fight any more.    It's their life, I
can't change it nor can I profess to walking a mile in their shoes.    I
can only live my life as it is.   I worry about my mother, as she is
getting older.   Someday, she will get hurt or trapped in her house, and
won't be able to get out.     Living with her children is impossible
because with her visits come lots of her "things".    

She's always
"working" on it.    Now my sister's kids are living the life that my
siblings and I lived.   But there is no way to stop it.    Always justifying
and making excuses for their own problem.     I wish there was
medication for this, but as many mental illnesses, you'd have to admit there is
a problem to try to stop it.   

I believe that neither one will ever
admit it.    Sometimes it's hard to love a hoarder, it's like their
"stuff" is more important than family.   Similar to drugs.   I work hard for
my life as it is.    I'm not perfect, but I won't be made to feel
sorry for them, they have to want to help themselves, I can't do it for
them.    The funny thing is, when they visit other relatives homes, they
seem to turn on the "clean" gene and seems to genuinely know how to
clean, and then becomes obsessed with it.   It think deep down, they are so
buried in "junk" they don't know how to crawl out of it.