Family arguments over a loved one’s belongings happen all the time. It gets so bad sometimes that the people who are supposed to receive may not agree. A woman told a story about her mother and the gift she left behind when she died. The woman began her story by saying that she was the one who cared for her sick mother. The woman wrote, “Mom was always my best friend, so of course I was going to be there for her through this whole thing.” But because she was always there for her mother, her greedy brother and her aunts only came over when they needed something, which was usually money to pay their bills. “While my mom was slowly getting worse, one aunt asked my mom’s “contacts” to help her find a new home. Because my mom ran a real estate business. “They were so cheeky,” the woman wrote. Sadly, her mom passed away. The woman then remembered when the will of her mother was going to be read. In the room that looked like a scene from a Hallmark movie, her brother, her aunts, and the lawyer for her late mother were all sitting. “As the lawyer dropped the bomb, I sipped weak tea from one of the broken teacups. My mom saved a lot of money—about $5 million—and she wanted to give it to my brother and aunts. I forced down my tea as I tried to figure out what the heck was going on.

Since I didn’t get anything. Zip. Nada.” As the lawyer dropped the bomb, I sipped weak tea from one of the broken teacups. My mom saved a lot of money—about $5 million—and she wanted to give it to my brother and aunts. I forced down my tea as I tried to figure out what the heck was going on. Since I didn’t get anything. “Not a thing,” the woman wrote. At that moment, tears started to fall from her eyes, and mascara got on her skirt. Her brother and aunts couldn’t hide the grins on their faces. “I thought, ‘How in the world could my mom have hurt me?’ I thought as I wiped my nose with the palm of my hand.” The poor woman kept asking herself, “As a classic overthinker, I began to wonder whether I cared enough for her during those last months.” After that, she saw the lawyer walk up to her and give her an envelope. The woman saw an address written on a piece of paper when she opened it. She didn’t understand what was going on. At first, she thought it might be the home of a storage unit her mom wanted her to clean out. One person who didn’t say anything was the lawyer. He did nothing but tell her that her mom loved her the most about her. The woman found out that her mom left her a beautiful house when she got to the address. It looked like a house from a fairy tale, the house in front of her. In the yard, they even put in the woman’s favorite flowers. “My mom knew that my brother and aunts were the ones who spent the most money.” She did, however, want me to have a place to start a family and a future.” The woman went on with her story, “To make new memories in a place that clearly has her spirit.” Another note on the kitchen table in this new house said that the mother gave the money to her son and sister knowing that they would waste it as soon as they got their hands on it. However, she did this to teach them the value of family, which they would probably learn the hard way after spending all the money they got. “But now that I’m in my new kitchen and drinking coffee from the coffee machine I’ve always wanted, I know that my mom’s love was never about money—no.” I knew this gift would be more important to me than anything else because it happened in this house. “Hey, Mom? You still know the best.” What do you think about this story?