Heirs Beware of Opportunists

It’s been a week tomorrow that my uncle passed on. I miss our phone calls so much because I always enjoyed talking with him on a myriad of subjects.

He lived alone in Arizona and as much as I tried to convince him to come here to Oregon, he just didn’t want to make the move. I understand that. So he had a caregiver who did things for him on occasion. He was still able to drive and do his own shopping, cooking, laundry, etc., so she really didn’t have to do much but pick things up for him once in a while.

Are you ready for this? They had an arrangement that he would email her every evening to let her know he was okay. If she didn’t get an email from him, she was supposed to call and then go over to his house if he didn’t answer. Last Wednesday she didn’t get an email from him so she called and there was no answer. But she didn’t go over to his house until the next morning. And that’s when she found him. He had passed in his sleep. It makes me wonder why she didn’t go over that evening. Maybe the answer is below …

It just so happens that she had a will drawn up for him stating that she would get his home and his car upon his passing. She is the executor of that will and is non-responsive to me at this point when I asked that she provide a copy for me. Apparently she took him to have it witnessed and notarized so it is perfectly legal.

My uncle never had any children so my two cousins and I are the only heirs to his estate. So we thought.

We are just blown away that this woman would take advantage of an 86 year old man, living alone, hard of hearing and probably irrational when this all took place. Occasionally his electrolytes would become unbalanced and it affected his cognitive abilities. I feel that she took full advantage of that.

Since she is the executor of his estate, I can’t even have his mail forwarded to me so that I can take of his lingering affairs like insurance, utility bills, etc. And it was like pulling teeth to even get a copy of his death certificate.

The reason I’m sharing this is to warn anyone who has a caregiver in a loved one’s life to beware of what could happen. I trusted this woman. Shame on me for doing so. I never thought she would turn out to be an opportunist and a thief.

I believe that what we give out is what we get back. Karma can come galloping up on a black horse at breakneck speed, especially for those who take advantage of others. No good can come from her ill-gotten gains.

Thanks for reading my rant. Be good to yourself and each other. Namaste’

Loss

Back in the 70’s, my Uncle encouraged me to buy an SLR film camera. With his help, I purchased a Pentax K1000. Wow! It was slick (at that time) but I didn’t know jack squat about that kind of camera. It was completely manual; no automatic settings at all. I was used to using a Fuji point and shoot 🙂

Well … long story short, he took me under his wing and taught me about focus, depth of field, shutter speed, natural light, bounce flash, and composition. Pretty much everything I needed to know. He had been a photo journalist for the Omaha World Herald newspaper and I really enjoyed looking through his collection of articles and images.

Soon after I got that camera, we went on a trip to Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA. We had such a good time, taking pictures all over the place, including sitting on the beach at sunset, capturing images of waves crashing on the rocks. Between the two of us, I think we shot 25 or 30 rolls of film.

He taught me so much and I’ll miss him and his encouragement. He passed away a few days ago. He was 86 and lived a great life, but losing him leaves another hole in my heart. My consolation is knowing that he’s now with my Mom, his big sister. They we so close. Now they are again.

R.I.P.

Be good to yourself and each other. Namaste’

 

Boots

It’s been a while since I’ve been here due to lots of weird circumstances with health, family members, etc.  Like I said in a FB post, it seems that the Universe is dishing out some shenanigans lately. So it’s good to be back.  I’ve missed all my blogger friends and followers.

I know I’ve posted some dog pics lately.  But you know me … I love these furry kids.  So here’s another one … meet Boots.  He is such a cutie pie and full of energy.  Only two years old, so Daisy thinks our household has been invaded by some crazy ninja canine.

He is one of my first dog-sitting clients.  He’ll be back in April for a few more days so Daisy will have some rest in the meantime.

His dog mom says he’s a mix of Chihuahua and Labrador Retriever.  Huh?  I just don’t want to picture how that happened. Namaste’

In Time for Christmas

I found the piece below from Wayne Dyer and thought it might be just what some folks could use … just in time for Christmas.  Namaste’

My new Poinsettia Plant

Dear friends,

Many years ago, when the holiday season arrived and certain relatives were due to make their annual appearance, I felt a sense of increasing dread. Far too many of us suffer from the pain of family get-togethers, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Somehow we allow the expectations and demands of our family members to be the source of so much unhappiness and stress, when what we really want is to be authentically ourselves and at peace with our relatives.

The conflict seems too often to be a choice between being authentic, which means no peace with certain relatives, or having peace at the price of being inauthentic. Being peaceful and authentic can define your relationship with your relatives. First, though, you may have to assess your relationship with the closest relative of all—you.

In order to change the nature of family relationships, you’ll have to change your mind about them and consider that you are the source of the anguish in your relationships, rather than the individual whom you’ve pegged as the most outrageous, the most despicable, or the most infuriating. Over the years, all of these individuals have been treating you exactly as you’ve allowed them to with your reactions and behaviors. This can miraculously change when you choose to be at peace with everyone in your life—most particularly, your relatives.

If the focus of your inner dialogue about your family members is on what they’re doing that’s wrong, then that’s precisely how your relationship with them will be experienced. If your inner speech centers on what’s annoying about them, that’s what you’ll notice. But if you’re thinking, I am authentic and peaceful with this relative, then that’s what you’ll experience—even if that relative continues to be exactly the way he or she has always been.

The key to having peace in all your family relationships is forgiveness. Your relatives are simply doing what they’ve been taught to do over a lifetime, and the lifetimes of many of their ancestors. Shower them with understanding and forgiveness from your heart. Rather than being in a state of non-peace concerning any family members, say a prayer of gratitude for their presence in your life and all that they have come to teach you.

The likelihood is great that you’ll see dramatic changes in your relatives as you teach them with your own persona how you intend to be treated. But if they don’t change, and if they continue their non-peaceful ways, let go of your need to see them transformed. It all works in Divine order, and the saying Let go and let God guarantees your own peace, and you dramatically increase the odds of helping others to do the same.

Love today and always,

I AM,

Wayne

Wayne W. Dyer, Ph.D. is an internationally renowned author and speaker in the field of self-development. He’s the author of 30 books, has created many audio and video programs, and has appeared on thousands of television and radio shows. His books Manifest Your Destiny, Wisdom of the Ages, There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem, and the New York Times bestsellers 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace, The Power of Intention, Inspiration and Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Life have all been featured as National Public Television specials. See Wayne in his new feature length movie The Shift. Visitwww.drwaynedyer.com for details.