I do think "self-protection" may have a lot to do with my sister's standoffishness. She's always had a tendency to be fearful. But she has made herself do some brave things that were hard for her. Then again she has sought security by doing some things that she can't be too proud of. Maybe I'm expecting more of her than she has the strength for.

I'll get through what I have to cope with regardless of how much or how little I hear from her. I have not acknowledged her text message by texting back even a "thank you." Some years ago, when there was a lot of stress in our family, she sent me some pretty nasty emails. I have always believed that people should be very slow to put negative messages in writing. Words that are in writing have a permanence to them. I'm not interested in rekindling an exchange of texts with her, whether that be in email or in text messaging. What seems to start off amicably can take a sudden turn and go in a bad direction. Sometimes people put in text what they wouldn't have the guts to say vocally.

She has a right to text. And I have a right to not be happy about being "texted" to. By now she has probably figured out that I'm not too pleased with her text. That hasn't led her to do anything else. She's showing that she feels some aversion to being in real contact with me. So she makes this choice to refrain from the phone calls that I think are normal between sisters. She can do that. But I'm unwilling to participating in a "texted" relationship, where we make believe that this is normal and nice. It's not nice. It's not normal.