The home my parents resided is flooded. This monsoon season flooded over 60%  of the residence across 3 states and so far, have claimed 6 lives. What am I to do? I find myself sitting here and my first instinct or defense is.... money. How much is needed to bail them out? "Them" - now refers to my eldest brother's family minus my parents for the first time.

While I don't feel that it is my responsibility to pay up, I am also caught in the web of the past, tangled in guilt to help out. I also question if I am doing any justice to my nieces and nephew if I made it too easy for them. They have also been raised by a narcissistic and they have been indoctrinated about my role as the "banker." While I am untangling the past, I also feel compassion towards my youngest niece in particular. She is stuck home with her dad, my super lazy eldest brother, who will probably make her clean up everything while he sits in front of the computer and holler at her. Where am I to send the money and what can money really do? Too many time, money is sent for reason to bail them out, only to find out that it has been used to upgrade my brother's electronic gadgets. This time it will likely be more of the same if I am naive enough to wire any dough across the border.

So what do I do as an aunt who is trying to reach out but not enable the next generation from being helplessly dependent? It is a balance that I don't have an answer to. I sent a message to both girls and waiting to see what they say. I hope they are ok.