Good Mourning by Theresa Caputo

Good Mourning by Theresa Caputo

Author:Theresa Caputo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperOne
Published: 2020-08-08T00:00:00+00:00


* * *

Mantra: Live your life, but live within your means.

* * *

When all of her parents’ money had been spent, Allison said her mom and dad seemed shocked but were also able to quickly forget and move on. However, Allison grieved this money because a large part of it was to be passed on to her as an inheritance when her parents died. “I grieved by being angry,” she said. “I was angry at my parents, but I was mostly angry at the trolls who did this.”

She took matters into her own hands at one point and tried to talk to the scammers to get them to stop. “I was home one time and ‘Marcia’ called,” Allison told me. “My mother and I sound alike, and it was hard to tell the difference between us. I talked to ‘Marcia,’ and at first, she believed I was my mom. She was asking why the money hadn’t come that my mom had promised to send. I said I was sick, yet she insisted that I send her money to get the lottery money. She said it was to pay the taxes on the winnings. When I pushed further, ‘Marcia’ said she would never lie to me and was very slick. She would badger me with why it needed to be done and how it needed to be done quickly so I could collect the winnings. This woman told me how much to send and where. She eventually figured out I wasn’t Edie, and she was angry. I was angry. I let out a rant of obscenities that would make a sailor blush.”

Allison’s anger was ripe at the time, and she still carries it with her. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it. It’s not like there were millions of dollars, but it sure would have helped them in retirement and me, later in life,” she said. “I’ve been working part time since I moved down south to take care of my parents. It’s impossible to make money to retire when you’re part time. I’m forty-eight, and retirement feels right around the corner. I’m getting to the age where people won’t want to hire me much longer. Not having that money as a cushion is extremely detrimental. With my low salary, my 401K is basically pointless. I feel like I’ve wasted peak earning years that should have been the most productive for me. My mom has since passed, but by the time my dad dies, I’ll be fifty, at least—he’s ninety-five years old now. Not the time to start over without a cushion. It’s quite depressing.”

Though Allison has had trouble coping with the loss, her parents grieved on and off. She said her father didn’t really react to the situation, and she’s not sure how her mom truly felt when it was all said and done. “It coincided with her illnesses, so I don’t know what was due to what,” Allison said. “I know she was depressed. I know she cried about it.



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