My sister acted throughout the conversation as if she
was quoting/reading a script when making her various claims about what has
supposedly been different lately (I say this seeing how easy it was to
explain the reasoning to her

So everything she said to you - you had a counter argument and "explanation"
and you calmly explained to her how wrong she was about everything. How nice.
That would make me want to talke to you again.

(for those who think I'm making excuses of why I'm not trying certain things
& that I'm not really looking for input...if I weren't then why would I be
taking the time to post/follow up here?

So you can justify, defend and "explain" yourself - the same way you did when
you supposedly "listened" to your little sister.

Next time, just listen. Try to see it from her perspective, right or wrong,
that's how it feels to her and she took the time to try to tell you and all you
did was shoot her down. That's not listening. It's not about you and
defending or explaining yourself to her. It's about her and trying to
understand what she is going through and how it feels.

Before you answer right away about how I'm wrong, just take a breath. You
don't have to defend yourself. I'm sure you care about your sister and are
trying to help her- but you seem to have a need to justify yourself - here and
to your sister that is getting in the way of your ability to listen. Next time
she talks to you (if you get that chance) try just shutting up and hearing her.

Joelle
The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page - St
Augustine
Joelle