I believed that the $500,000 I inherited from my late mother would provide me with stability. Rather, it provided my in-laws with an excuse to attack me. One request evolved into another until I came to the conclusion that they just saw me as a talking, walking piggy bank and not as family. I had had enough of being their idiot.
I lost more than simply a parent on the day I lost my mother. I lost my cheerleader, my best friend, and my anchor. She was the lady who raised me single-handedly, who worked three jobs to put me through college, and who never complained even when life gave her every cause to…
“Promise me you’ll stand up for yourself, Helen,” she had whispered during our last conversation, her hand trembling in mine. “Promise me you won’t let anyone walk all over you.”
I promised. But I had no idea how soon I’d be tested on that promise.
They say money changes people. They’re wrong. Money doesn’t change people — it just REVEALS who they really are.
Before my mom passed, my in-laws barely tolerated me. My mother-in-law, Patricia, had a habit of finding “helpful” ways to point out my flaws. She’d make snide remarks about how I cooked, how I dressed, and even how I spoke. My father-in-law, Robert, was no exception. To him, I was merely an afterthought… someone who existed in his world but didn’t matter.
Patricia would say, “Helen, dear,” with a falsely sweet tone, “you know, if you’d just add a pinch more salt to the gravy…” at family dinners. But I guess not everyone has the skills to cook like a true homemaker.
My beloved husband, Jake, was also passive and indifferent. If his parents were the wind, he was a leaf.
But then, my late mom left me $500,000. And suddenly, I wasn’t just Jake’s wife anymore.
I was their personal ATM.
They asked for money so casually the first time that you would assume they were borrowing sugar.
“Sweetheart, Robert’s car is just falling apart,” Patricia exclaimed over tea one day, shaking her head passionately. “The poor thing hardly gets to work.”
Jake, who was sitting next to me, gave me “the look.” The “just do it to keep the peace” look. I paused. “How much are we talking?” “Only $5,000!” she chirped. It was a small sum, and it was for a car, something useful, so I said yes. Two weeks later, Patricia pulled into my driveway in a BRAND-NEW SUV. That was my first mistake because they kept knocking after I opened the door. “Patricia’s dental implants!” “Robert needs a vacation!”
“Oh, wouldn’t it be nice to redo the kitchen?” Every conversation ended with me asking for money. Late one night, I confronted Jake in our bedroom and asked, “Do you realize your parents have asked for money five times this month alone?” He hardly looked up from his phone. “They’re just going through a rough patch.” “A rough patch that requires a $15,000 kitchen renovation? Jake, they’re taking advantage of us… of me.” He finally looked at me, but his expression was aloof. “They’re my parents, babe. It’s just temporary.” “Just like the car was temporary? Like the dental work was temporary?” I felt like tears were about to fall. “When does it end?”
Why are you being so dramatic about this? It’s just money.” “It’s not JUST MONEY!” I exploded. “It’s my mother’s legacy! The last thing she could give me! And your parents are treating it like they won the lottery!” “You’re exaggerating this, Helen. They’re family.” “Yeah? Some family. The kind that takes and takes until there’s NOTHING left.” Three months later, I had given them over $40,000, and Patricia sat me down for another conversation. I should have known something was wrong when she invited me over for tea and used my name rather than “sweetheart.”
Helen, you know Jake mentioned you haven’t bought a house yet,” she said, stirring her tea like she wasn’t about to cross every boundary in existence.
I nodded. “We’re still looking.”
“Well,” she replied, smiling like a cat eyeing a canary, “Robert and I had an idea. Since we’ve always wanted to retire early, and you have all that money just sitting there…”
My stomach grew constricted.
“You want me to purchase a home for you?”
Patricia waved her hand in laughter. “Oh, stop being so dramatic! Not buy it entirely! Only a modest down payment. Perhaps $150,000?
“One hundred fifty thousand?” Gasping, I repeated. “That’s… that’s nearly one-third of what I have left.”
Oh, but consider it an investment in your family! Patricia patted my hand across the table, and I fought the need to yank away. Furthermore, what would your mother actually want? To aid your family or to hoard all that money?
Something inside of me exploded at the mention of my mother. “Don’t even consider involving my mother in this.”
“I just want to say —”
With my voice shaking, I uttered, “My mother worked herself to death to provide for me.” “In order for me to live a better life, she missed school plays, birthdays, and dinners. And you wish to purchase your own retirement home with the money she gave up?
I waited till Jake took over. To say, “No, Mom. That’s crazy.
That was it. I wasn’t his spouse. I wasn’t related. I was a living, breathing piggy bank.
I was DONE.
That night, I laid in bed staring at the ceiling, feeling something I hadn’t felt in months – clarity.
My mother’s voice rang in my head: “Stand up for yourself, Helen.”
“I apologize for taking so long, Mom,” I said in a whisper into the darkness, tears streaming down my face. However, I’m now prepared.
I wasn’t going to simply refuse. They would never forget the lesson I was going to impart to them.
The next week, I threw a family meal. For Jake’s entire family, not just his parents. I asked his brother to come.
After everyone had taken their seats, I got up, held out my glass of lemonade, and grinned.
As Patricia and Robert leaned in, virtually drooling, I started, “I’ve been thinking a lot about what to do with my inheritance.”
“And you’re correct. Family should help family. I have therefore made the decision to do something truly unique.
Patricia put her hands together in a clap. “Oh, my love, that is absolutely amazing to hear!”
Jake gave a nod of approval. However, they were unaware of the impending events.
I declared, “I’ve made the decision to DONATE a significant amount of it.”
The chamber was so thick with quiet that it seemed as though everyone had turned to stone.
Patricia’s grin FROZE.