Letting Go...

I must admit I am a bit overprotective of Robin; one reason being because she is my baby sister and the second because of her disability. I think back to the time when I was 18 years old and trying to gain my independence as a young adult, the last thing I wanted was my family being too involved in my life. I wanted to experience life for myself on my own. I often wonder if Robin felt stripped of that experience. Becoming blind at the age of 18 she had to become dependent on her family to help her adjust. Seeing Robin go through such a difficult time it made me want to make things as easy for her as possible. There are a lot of things that Robin can do on her own, but I'm sure there's tons more things that she could do if we let our overprotective guards down. It's very hard to let go. I realized that I may have been enabling Robin when I would pick her up from work. I would always go to the door to meet her instead of letting her walk to the car herself. Last week I picked Robin up from work, my first instinct was to go get her and guide her to the car, but then I decided to let her come to the car herself. I watched her with nervousness as she utilized her cane to find her way to the car...I couldn't help myself so I rolled down the window and said "keep coming, follow my voice. To my surprise she made it to the car without any problems. She said that she had been wanting to guide herself but was nervous that she wouldn't be able to find her way. Was her nervousness created by me being so overprotective and wanting to do everything for her instead of allowing her the chance to try? We learn through our experiences in overcoming trials, tribulations and failures. If not given the opportunity to try something we are doing an individual great disservice. Robin was so happy that she was able to conquer the fear of guiding herself and through me being overprotective I was about to stifle her confidence and growth. Although it's going to be hard, for the good of my sister I am going to have to let go and let her gain her independence. I won't be there to catch her when she falls, but I will definitely be there to pick her up and brush her off and encourage her to try again in whatever it is that life throws her way.