July 17, 2009

  • My mother strikes again. Fortunately, this time I"m not the target. Still, I'm unimpressed.

    Since Grampa died, Mom's been going on and on about $175 000 that she claims Grampa said was supposed to be shared equally among her and her two brothers. Uncle Pete says she and Dave the Baby Rapist are entitled to $3600 each. I really don't give a crap, and I'm quite certain my mom has yet again fabricated  a story in her mind. I'm staying out of it, other than when she brings it up I tell her to just leave it alone and get on with her life.

    Tonight she phoned me and told me that she was in Kitchener yesterday with Dave, and that before heading home she bought a bag of manure and put it on Pete's front porch with a note saying "From your favourite sister." I told her that was useless and inappropriate. She told me what she'd really wanted to do was fill his mailbox with manure, but she didn't have a shovel.

    I asked if she'd consulted a lawyer, and she said she had and was told that the insurance policy named Pete as sole beneficiary, and thus she wasn't entitled to that money. I told her that was true, that the money is not part of the estate if it's named to a specific person. She is only entitled to one third of the estate. She says two lawyers told her that she could fight it in court, but it would probably cost her $10 000 and she'd almost certainly lose. I told her that she should take the advice of the lawyers and drop the issue.

    Mom claims that she hasn't received her $3600 yet, but that Dave already has his. She also said she was pissed off that Pete "is having all kinds of huge parties and going on holidays and stuff" and that it's not fair that he's hogging all the money. Argh. Pot, meet kettle!

    I told Mom that if she doesn't stop harassing Pete, she could have police knocking on her door, and possibly a restraining order. It doesn't sound like he responded to her at all, which would be for the best as she just wants a fight.  Hopefully she'll feel she got her point across and settle down, but knowing my mother she won't drop it. If she doesn't drop it, I can only hope he does report her for harassment, as she won't back down for anybody except police, and even then it's after a fight in most cases.

    On the upside, on Sunday Mom told me she's afraid she's going to have a stroke or something, and her cats will starve to death before anybody finds her. All along she's maintained that her LifeSign button is sufficient for her safety, and even now I find it laughable that she s incapable of seeing the risk to her own safety from living alone. Anyway, she said she was wondering if she should go into a home. I encouraged this line of thinking, saying that it's best for her to choose a place now rather than waiting until she urgently needs to move and then just trying to get stuck in wherever will take her. Unfortunately I think I set her progress back a bit by dropping by CCAC the next day and picking up some brochures about assisted living residences, as she didn't lok pleased when I gave them to her. I just handed them over and said it was for her information, and she should check with CCAC herself and then go around and check out a bunch of places. Hopefully she follows through, because there would be a lot less to worry about if she had someone looking out for her. She claims she doesn't have the money for such a place, but honestly, she owns her condo outright and gets as much money in pensions as Gilly makes working full-time. Between penions, funds from the condo sale, and the RRIFs, she would easily be able to cover the costs of living in a residence. She could have her own apartment, meals provided, cleaning staff provided, laundry assistance, and freedom to come and go as she pleased. It would be like living in a flippin' hotel! I hear some even accept cats, although I told her not to worry, that if she couldn't take her cats we'd figure something out.

    Parenting a parent is surprising and complicated!