Unappreciated

Sheva was a “giver.” Ever since she was little, she loved to help. She’d help her mother bake. She’d willingly and lovingly look after her younger siblings. She’d make cards and parties for her friends, and run errands for others. It was all natural and easy for her. And it made her happy.

Esti wasn’t like her older sister Sheva. She’d help when asked, but she did it because she “had to,” and she knew it was the right thing to do. It was never because she really wanted to. In fact, it was hard for Esti to interrupt her activities even to do her assigned chores. Esti was a sweet girl, but no one would say she was a “giver.”

Eventually, Esti and Sheva grew up and had kids of their own. As mothers, they were thrust into full-time giving. They stayed up at night with their babies and got up early to take care of their toddlers. They fed their families, cleaned up after everyone, took care of their husbands, their extended families, their friends, and their communities — all this in their “free” time, when they weren’t at work.

They were both tired most of the time. But Sheva was a “fulfilled” kind of tired while Esti was more of a “drained” kind of tired.