>> I love that there are so many roots of adult Phil in Flip, particularly his skills of being highly sensitive and adaptable. <<

Yay! I'm glad this works for you. Those are core traits of Phil in the movies, so I really got to wondering how someone who seems privileged -- white, male, educated, a Marine -- would have developed skills typical of less privileged groups.

>> I can see how he became adept at reading body language. When it's difficult for the people you love to communicate verbally, you start paying attention to other things. <<

Yes, exactly, and other reasons will emerge later.

>> Here, it seems that neither his mom nor his sister toward the end at least are great verbal communicators. Alexa can't, physically, and mom can't emotionally, either by exhaustion or depression or both. <<

Yeah, Alexa used to be good at it but is going to take a while to relearn speech. :( Mom is excellent at it, but right now she is deep-fried and has no spoons left for it. :'(

>> He's also already figuring out what works for Alexa, i.e. tags and clothes and buttons. <<

Yes. Flip is deft at finding things he can do to help, and later on, that grows into Phil's wider ability to help other people find things they can do.

>> There's so much truth here about the reality with a family member who has a disability. <<

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm really glad this came through well.

>> My sister is a nurse. We joke among ourselves that it was a natural career choice for her. She has in many ways been nursing her whole life simply by virtue of living with me and dealing with my disability. She jokes that she's been nursing her whole life; now she just gets paid for it. :-) <<

That seems to be a very common story. I'm saddened and frustrated that the materials I can find on parentification are overwhelmingly negative. Okay, those horror stories are real, but they're not complete. There are other people who, like your sister, use their childhood experiences of caregiving to spin up a nurturing career. They deserve to tell their stories too, and have their accomplishments respected.

>> Interestingly, we both have elements of parentification. While she was far more physical caregiver, I was the socioemotional caregiver. <<

That makes sense. People have different abilities. It's good when they balance out.

I really see this with Thor and Loki. Thor provides the physical protection. Loki, the smart one, helps keep Thor out of trouble (or patch him up afterwards). They need each other. Tight as they were growing up, Odin must have put serious effort into cutting them apart.

>> That doesn't apply here with Flip and Alexa necessarily. I just wanted to point out that it is sometimes split in this way and other ways. <<

While Alexa has lost a lot of her intellectual ability, her emotional ability is perfectly intact. You'll see more of that later as she recovers. Phil's natural inclination is intellect. He has to work more deliberately to cultivate his intuitive skills, and fortunately he has his mother and sister for inspiration.