By RuthAnn Hogue/Whiptail Publishing
Naomi Hesterman is tired of being pushed around by an adult son who thinks he knows best. “I guess I have spoiled him,” the 79-year-old said today.
Well, she’s had enough. She deserves props for standing up to a son who is used to being in charge–without being questioned.
What’s sad, is that no one else in the family, and I mean no one, seems to be willing to take up my Mom’s cause. They too, it would appear, either fear Bryce Hesterman and company or just do not understand the gravity of his abuse.
This is leaving me further estranged. It’s not something I wish or ask for but appears to be reality.
Being amicable does not mean rolling over and letting someone harm your mother or grandmother. Why can’t it mean politely asking those who would meddle into daily matters that are none of their affairs to mind their own business–and what’s more, to encourage them to obey the law?
Theft is wrong. Stealing from the elderly is wrong. Stealing family photos that could actually help your mother retain her memory is hideous. Withholding them unless she complies with wishes is either theft or worse. I’m not up on the correct legal terms. If you call letting that slide being amicable, well, then don’t expect that from me. It’s not what a good caregiver, or daughter, would allow to happen to her mom.
Forcing her to live in a climate not conducive to her comfort and well-being–and getting her there by trickery–is appalling. Going along with it without a word, in my book, is just as bad.
For those who fear that the family album would be lost forever to the rest of the family if they allow my Mom to have it while living here, I would say that is rubbish. I have no use for such a book once my Mother is gone. They can be sure it will be returned to the Terry family without issue. What they do with it is up to them.
You have the right to your own opinions. And I have mine. If we disagree, fine. Then, “Good day. I said Good Day.”
RuthAnn Hogue is the owner and founder of Whiptail Publishing’s WebTechGirl.com and BookTrailerCentral.co. She is an award-winning author and journalist with an Internet Marketing Master of Science and a B.A. in Journalism/Political Science.