Last Sunday, I went to mom's to work on the books for the apartments. She has owned a couple of four-plex apartment for many years, and several months back I mentioned my interest in them. She talks a lot these days about her passing and she's preparing - trying to prepare.
If you recall, she had her second cancer scare and she's had other health issues since. She has given me medical power of attorney and, therefore, keeps me specifically informed on her health conditions and desires. She has also begun teaching me how to handle the apartments. There's a lot to learn but I'm not too worried as I'm certain we still have plenty of time for training.
Today, as we wrapped things up she announced that she wanted me to cut three checks; one for me, and one for each of my sisters. This money would be an equal division of a profit left in one of the accounts. We each received $500.00. I couldn't cut the checks. I realize that my mother has plenty of money to live off of and this money is not going to break her bank - she has always been extremely thrifty with her budget, income, and investments, but it is still hard for me to accept money from her. After begging her to think it over for another week, she insists that she'd thought about it plenty and wanted her heirs to understand the profit in the apartments. In actuality the apartments reap a much larger profit than this (and even more so in the future) but she keeps several accounts and this is a small chunk of what we would receive from profits later. But I don't like to talk about this sort of thing with her (even though I know that we need to), and I don't like to dwell on the idea of her passing over.
She cut the checks. I assure her that I would be doing nothing with it for some time, and that when I do decide to cash it, I would like to invest it wisely for my retirement. She advised me of investment options of her preference.
I sometimes wonder what it's like getting old; so old that your body fails you, and your mind fails you. And the kids quit coming by to visit because they've got too much going on of their own. I suppose there are so many mentalities that everyone handles getting old differently. I'd like to think that I won't be afraid or worried of getting closer to death; rather, it will be a spiritual time and that maybe I will spend my days meditating and blogging my thoughts...
Today, as we wrapped things up she announced that she wanted me to cut three checks; one for me, and one for each of my sisters. This money would be an equal division of a profit left in one of the accounts. We each received $500.00. I couldn't cut the checks. I realize that my mother has plenty of money to live off of and this money is not going to break her bank - she has always been extremely thrifty with her budget, income, and investments, but it is still hard for me to accept money from her. After begging her to think it over for another week, she insists that she'd thought about it plenty and wanted her heirs to understand the profit in the apartments. In actuality the apartments reap a much larger profit than this (and even more so in the future) but she keeps several accounts and this is a small chunk of what we would receive from profits later. But I don't like to talk about this sort of thing with her (even though I know that we need to), and I don't like to dwell on the idea of her passing over.
She cut the checks. I assure her that I would be doing nothing with it for some time, and that when I do decide to cash it, I would like to invest it wisely for my retirement. She advised me of investment options of her preference.
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