The Truth Is Beautiful...

What's the best thing that happened to you this week?

My grandmother, who died in January, may have left me $25,000. This is awesome news, as it my father's share of a bulk sum of money that her kids got before she died (they all got $100,000), but since he died before she did we didn't get any money (except for the $5,000 she gave all 20 of her grandchildren). My brother, sister and I are mostly likely the only people that had money specifically earmarked for us. The bad part is that my totally greedy aunt hasn't contacted any of us (she's in charge of the will, the executor) and she keeps telling my mother that when my grandmother died there was 'nothing' left. Especially after paying $5,000 per month for her nursing home, for a year. (I find it hard to believe that in the last three years my grandmother spent over half a million dollars. Especially since those last three years were the years 89 through 92. The woman lived through the great depression and didn't buy anything other than groceries. I highly doubt all she had left was $60,000) There isn't a single nursing home/assisted living in Montana that charges that much. And I find it a little odd that my grandmother dies and my aunt suddenly has the money, in these tough economical times, to completely refurnish her home. She replaced all her new furniture with all new furniture.

So the good thing: Money for college and safety money, which is a big bonus right now.
Bad thing: My Aunt may have squandered it or is lying about it. And I may be headed for a HUGE fight when I ask to see the will next week.

I find it highly unlikely that my 92year old grandmother cut the three of us out of her will. I know she got mad at people, and cut them out all the time (she left a grand total of $1 to her baby brother and his wife), but us? Really? These are the only three grandchildren (relatives really, since her kids did it to, minus my dad) that didn't treat her like some bank account. This is the granddaughter (my sister) who wrote her a letter every week after she moved to the East Coast. The only male in our family (well, the third of the family that was between my grandmothe and grandfather, her second husband) to carry on our last name (my brother). And her youngest grandchild (me), who was quite universally adored if I do say so myself (it's true, I think it has something to do with the fact that everyone still sees me as a little girl, and that since everyone is so much older than me they don't know all the 'bad girl' stuff I've done).


On another note, it's Father's Day and I'm close to crying again by 2am.

Have you ever considered converting to another religion?

When I was about 16 I decided that religion was/is supposed to be a spiritual experience that speaks to you personally. Something I wasn't getting from the religion I was raised in, Lutheran. So I went on a mission to find 'my' religion. Two and a half years later after researching Catholicism, Buddism, Paganism, Baptist (my Uncle is the President of the North American Baptist Church, so I had a lot of info on this), Wiccan, and several other religions, I made the crucial decision to not have one. I made the choice that I believe in God, but not in organized religion. In my opinion organized religion is one step away from being a cult. I came to the conclusion that many of the religions are corrupt, with violent histories of war and crusade. After looking into all of I began to really wonder what makes on more right than the other? That even churches that believe in 'one true God' can't seem to agree on what this God is like. Some teach him as vengeful, some teach him as judgemental, all say that if you have a problem, if you need something to pray for it and the answer.

I have my own beliefs. The way I describe it to my family is I believe that God may have created the world, and got us started, but at this point he's more of a silent partner. That perhaps we're his soap opera, his social experiment. With that said, I always add that it gives more evidence to life on other planets, because everyone gets bored with just one show.

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Ghandi

So it's, like, a flashback to my childhood with the released 'sequel' to one of my favorite movies as a child. Escape to Witch Mountain. It's a movie I used to force my cousins to watch everytime I went to visit since it wasn't one of the million and half that my mom bought. I don't know why.

( The Race Is On... )