Family Frustrations

Casey has a favorite aunt. He has always had a very close relationship with her. In the past few years we haven't gotten to visit as much, because of life, children spreading out, etc. He never let that bother him and always enjoyed the phone conversation and catching up. Lately, we've always been invited to go and visit, but only one visit has been made to us, lasting only five minutes. This past weekend, Casey ran into some other family at the local Wal-Mart. They spent some time catching up and sharing life. At some point, they mentioned that they had run into the aunt in town at our local Bicentennial Celebration. Now, Casey was off from work that Saturday for the whole day. Never left the house. He was absolutely CRUSHED that the aunt spent the whole day in town and never even bothered to give him a call. He would have gladly met her on the square just to visit for a few minutes.

Casey's been really, really, really hurt over all of this, and it has made me furious! Casey doesn't have a lot of family. His mother passed away from breast cancer ten years ago, and he wouldn't know his father, if he passed him on the street. He's his mother's only child. So, this aunt was very precious to him. I would love to think that this slight was unintentional, but how can I be sure? There's been drifting for a while, but we always thought it was just one of those things. It breaks my heart for him. My first reaction is to pick up the phone and just have at it. My logical side knows that it is between Casey and his aunt, and I shouldn't make things worse. But when Casey hurts, I hurt. It's beyond me how family can treat each other like this, but I know that it's not unique to just one family. It happens in my family too. I really would like to see them work it out, but I know it will take Casey a long time to get over this. I'm not sure this hurt can be repaired.