|
I received some money when my maternal grandfather passed away. My paternal grandfather's money was all in an IRA that passed on to my father, uncle, and their much younger sister (who promptly cashed it out and complained that it wasn't very much, well no duh, you had to pay a fat penalty). I also received some stuff--a television/VCR combo from my maternal grandfather's death and a Dodge Dakota truck, and a large television and some furniture from my paternal grandfather. What I really wanted and valued went to my aunt instead (not that she deserves it)--my oma and Grandpa's wedding rings. I wouldn't be surprised to find out she had pawned them by now. Supposedly she has promised my mother that they will be passed on to me at some point; I never expect to see that day.
Some things of my parents have more sentimental value than others, and it's those things that I want--my great-grandfather's harmonica and his tiger clock, my mother's rings, my dad's class ring and his Civil War books. My dad also has a sculpture in his possession that he made for his father when he was just a little boy--it looks like a slug but my dad swears up and down that it's a seal. It comes with a story. Things like those are what I want to hang on to.
Money is irrelevant--I just want to make sure my mother is taken care of if my father dies first, and vice versa. I know I have to help my uncle execute my father's estate when the time comes, and it's not something I look forward to or try to think about.
__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
|