They say that familiarity breeds contempt and how old that saying is speaks quite clearly to how long the family drama we hear about nowadays has really been going on.
There will always be people who have trouble with their interfering in-laws and there will always be families with members whose values don’t line up with each other.
And another issue that you can almost set your watch to concerns how families tend to react when their black sheep suddenly starts doing well for themselves. While some will stick to their guns and demonstrate that no amount of money will get them to change their minds, many will come to their jilted relative with a sob story in the hopes that this person will forget all the ways they mistreated them.
Although most of us would expect that plan to work as well as an attempt to sell that relative the Brooklyn Bridge, one woman’s story shows how powerful of a tool guilt can be.
Growing up, the woman described herself as living in a strict Christian household that had rigid ideas as to what her gender roles should be.
As she explained in a Reddit post , this meant that her older brother was considered “the second king of the house.” And since her grandparents didn’t agree with her family’s values, that meant she became closer to them as she came of age.
It’s also worth noting that these grandparents had a large house they had long paid off and that her grandpa had a debilitating back condition.
This condition would only get worse after the woman’s grandmother passed away, but the grandpa made it clear that he didn’t want home care from a stranger.
Yet as the woman put it, “My parents preached that it was punishment for all his sins so they wouldn’t take care of him and were planning on putting him in a home.”
So while they neglected to even call him towards the end of his life, the woman decided to move in with him to handle that care herself. She was able to get her other work done from his home and he got to spend his final days in an environment of laughing and love.
RELATED STORIES
During this time, the grandpa had joked that he should leave his house to her. But she soon learned that he was more serious than she thought.
And while she bonded with her family for the first time in years at her grandfather’s funeral, the mood quickly changed when the will was read and they accused her of manipulating the grandpa into giving her the house.
Of course, these accusations didn’t stop her brother from turning up in tears and asking her to give it to him instead.
In her words, “He argued that because it’s just me and my husband and we don’t want kids I don’t need it. I told him to leave and felt horrible.”
Since she’s now conflicted between her grandfather’s wishes and her family’s needs, she’s now asking if she truly made the right decision.
And for the Reddit community she reached out to, the issue is so clear-cut that they thought she had no reason to feel guilty.
As one user said , “You took care of your grandfather out of love, expecting nothing in return. Your dad and brother gave nothing, and expected everything in return. Keep the house.”
But others warned her to talk to a lawyer in case her family tries to sue for undue influence over her grandpa.
As another person claiming to be a lawyer put it , “On the facts as you supplied them, I don’t think they’d win, but it would be expensive and time-consuming.”
h/t: Reddit | aIt_throwthrow
