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My Daughter-in-Law Said I Was "Living Too Large" So I Canceled 16 Payments And Watched Her — Transcript

by Core Tales · 4,313 words · 701 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00My son told me I was living too large,
0:03and I looked him dead in the eye and
0:04said, he might be right.
0:07My name is Joyce Matthews. I'm 63 years
0:10old, and I've lived in the same
0:12four-bedroom brick colonial outside
0:15Columbus, Ohio
0:16for 31 years. My husband Roy and I
0:20bought it when Shane was five. We
0:22painted every room ourselves, and Roy
0:25planted the maple in the front yard the
0:27summer Shane learned to ride a bike.
0:30Roy passed four years ago this November.
0:33The house has been quiet since, but it's
0:35a quiet I chose to keep.
0:37Before I tell you the rest, drop the
0:40name of your town in the comments.
0:43Every other Sunday, my son Shane and his
0:46wife Haley came for dinner with the
0:48kids. Hudson is nine and Ruby is six.
0:52Lately, Haley's mother, Gail, had
0:55started tagging along, and I noticed all
0:57three adults had gotten into a habit of
1:00looking around my dining room the way
1:02people look at a car they're thinking of
1:04buying.
1:06That Sunday, it came out over pot roast.
1:09Joyce, Haley said, setting down her
1:11fork, we've been talking, and this house
1:14is just so much for one person.
1:17Honestly, you're living too large.
1:19Gail nodded into her wine glass like
1:22she'd rehearsed it.
1:24Mom, Shane said, not quite meeting my
1:27eyes, if you sold and moved into one of
1:30those nice 55 plus condos, you'd free up
1:33a ton of equity.
1:35It could really help the family.
1:37We're stretched thin, and we've got our
1:39eye on a house in Dublin with a real
1:41yard for the kids.
1:43The family, I said.
1:46Things are tight, Haley said, and she
1:48said it the way you'd say it from the
1:50deck of a boat.
1:52Her new manicure caught the chandelier
1:54light.
1:55It's just the logical thing. You don't
1:58need all this space, and do.
2:00Nobody asked what I wanted. Nobody asked
2:03how I was doing without Roy. They had
2:05already moved me into a condo and spent
2:08the money.
2:10I see, I said, and I dabbed my mouth
2:13with my napkin. Maybe I ought to take a
2:15close look at my finances tonight.
2:18Shane and Haley traded a look. Gale
2:21actually smiled. They thought I just
2:23said yes and I let them think it. They
2:26had no idea what I was about to close.
2:29After the taillights disappeared down
2:31the street, I stood in my kitchen with
2:34the dishes still on the table.
2:37I wasn't angry. What I felt was colder
2:40and cleaner than anger, like opening a
2:42window in January. I went into Roy's old
2:45study, switched on the green banker's
2:48lamp and logged into my bank account.
2:51For three years, I'd been helping out.
2:54That was the word I'd used with myself
2:56and with my sister and with the priest.
3:00A little help while Shane got
3:01established. A little help while Haley
3:04figured out her business.
3:06I pulled up the statements and started a
3:08list on a yellow legal pad, the way Roy
3:11used to.
3:13Shane's truck payment which I co-signed,
3:15truck insurance, Haley's SUV lease, SUV
3:19insurance, both of their cell phones
3:22plus the kids' tablets, internet and
3:24cable, a streaming bundle,
3:26Haley's gym and the boutique Pilates
3:28studio, Hudson's travel baseball fees,
3:31Ruby's dance tuition, a meal kit
3:34subscription because Haley found grocery
3:36stores draining, a lawn service for
3:39their house, the minimum payments on two
3:42credit cards that I had added them to as
3:45authorized users, and Gale's car
3:48insurance which somehow had ended up on
3:50my card too.
3:52I counted twice, then a third time.
3:5516 recurring payments. The monthly total
3:58came to $1,980.
4:02I sat there with the pen in my hand.
4:05Three years at nearly 2,000 a month.
4:08I had been quietly financing the exact
4:10people who just told me I took up too
4:13much room.
4:14I'd mistaken rescuing for loving, and
4:17over time, my help had hardened into
4:20their expectation until they didn't even
4:22notice it was mine.
4:25I opened the first account and clicked
4:27remove payment method, confirm, then the
4:29phone carrier, cancel autopay, confirm.
4:33Haley's Pilates studio wanted a reason
4:36for cancellation, and I typed not my
4:39studio.
4:41I called the credit card company's
4:4224-hour line and removed both authorized
4:46users and closed their cards to new
4:48charges. I canceled the policies and
4:51subscriptions still billed in my name,
4:53deleted my bank routing from the truck
4:56loan, and asked the SUV leasing company
4:59to take my card off file. I spent an
5:02hour and 10 minutes going down that list
5:05line by line, crossing each one off the
5:08legal pad.
5:09When the last line was crossed off, I
5:11closed the laptop. My chest felt light.
5:15Roy used to say a clear conscience is
5:17the best mattress in the world. I slept
5:20like I was 25.
5:22The first call came at 6:52 the next
5:25morning.
5:26I was on the back patio with black
5:28coffee, watching a cardinal fight, his
5:31own reflection in the window.
5:33Mom. Shane's voice was tight. My card
5:37got declined at the gas station. I'm
5:39standing at the pump and there's a line
5:41behind me.
5:43That card was mine, Shane. I removed you
5:46from it.
5:47You what? Why? I need to get to work.
5:50Then I'd stop at the bank on your way
5:52and take care of it.
5:54You have your own debit card.
5:57Is this about last night? Mom, we were
5:59just talking.
6:01I told you I was going to look at my
6:03finances. I did. Have a good day.
6:06I hung up before he could build a second
6:09sentence.
6:10By nine, my phone looked like a slot
6:12machine. Haley texted, the lease company
6:16just emailed that the auto draft failed
6:19and our account is flagged. What did you
6:21do? Then the cable and cell providers
6:25just sent cancellation notices. The
6:28tablets and internet are cutting off
6:29today. Joyce, answer me. Then Gail, who
6:33had never once texted me in her life.
6:36This is cruel and you should be ashamed.
6:39I turned the phone face down on the
6:41patio table and poured a second cup.
6:44I'd cut off the money,
6:46but I knew they'd soon come to the house
6:49to push me back into the old
6:51arrangement. And Roy had taught me that
6:53you don't discuss a boundary with
6:55someone holding a key to it.
6:58Shane had carried a key to my front door
7:00since he was 12 and he'd never given it
7:03back.
7:04Over the years, he and Haley had come to
7:07treat my house like a warehouse. They'd
7:10let themselves in for the good ladder,
7:12the leaf blower, a casserole dish, a bag
7:15of my coffee. Sometimes I'd come home
7:17from church and find a stranger's flyer
7:20on my counter
7:22or Haley's laundry basket in my hallway.
7:25I called a locksmith.
7:27Can you come this morning? I'll pay the
7:29rush fee.
7:30By 11:30, the old brass cylinders were
7:33in a paper bag and three new deadbolts
7:36sat in my doors, turning with a clean,
7:39heavy click.
7:41I tipped him well and locked the door
7:43behind him.
7:44At 1:40 that afternoon, a truck door
7:47slammed in my driveway. I was in the
7:50kitchen with a crossword when I heard
7:52boots on the porch and the scrape of a
7:55key that no longer fit.
7:57What the Shane muttered. He rattled the
8:00knob. He knocked hard.
8:02I walked to the door and spoke through
8:04it.
8:05Hello, Shane.
8:07Mom, the lock's stuck.
8:09It isn' stuck. It's new.
8:12You changed the locks? Haley's voice
8:14came up from behind him, high and
8:16furious.
8:18Joyce, open this door right now.
8:20I turned the deadbolt and opened it as
8:23far as the safety chain allowed, which
8:25was 4 in.
8:27I looked at their flushed faces.
8:30Gail was in the passenger seat of the
8:32truck,
8:33glaring through the windshield.
8:35This is my house, I said evenly.
8:38You told me last night I had too much of
8:40it. I'm taking responsibility for it.
8:44You shut off my insurance, Shane said,
8:46loud enough for Mrs. Pruitt next door to
8:48hear.
8:49If I get pulled over, I'm toast.
8:52Then drive carefully to your agent's
8:55office and pay the premium.
8:58You can't just lock us out, Haley
9:00snapped.
9:01My inventory is in your spare room.
9:04I know where it is, I said, and we'll
9:06take care of that.
9:08I closed the door and went back to my
9:10crossword. I didn't solve a single clue,
9:14but my hands didn't shake either.
9:16Haley had spent the last four years on
9:19one business idea after another.
9:21First, it was a jewelry party company,
9:24then it was essential oils.
9:26This year, it was a wellness candle
9:28brand, which meant a lot of inventory
9:31and very few buyers because their house
9:34was too cluttered to stage photos. 12
9:38plastic bins of soy, wax, and glass jars
9:41had migrated into my spare bedroom.
9:44Roy's old sewing cabinet had been shoved
9:46into the corner to make room.
9:49Shane was no better.
9:50My garage held his old drum kit, a kayak
9:53he'd used once, two sets of golf clubs,
9:57and a pile of boxes labeled college
9:59stuff that had been collecting dust
10:01since 2012.
10:03They wanted me to downsize.
10:05I decided to start with their
10:07belongings.
10:08I did it myself over
10:11hours, with my bad knee complaining on
10:13every stair. I rolled the kayak to the
10:16end of the driveway and set it on the
10:18grass. I carried out the golf clubs and
10:21the boxes.
10:22Then I went upstairs and carried down 12
10:25bins of candles, one at a time, stopping
10:28on the landing to catch my breath. I
10:30didn't break anything. I didn't throw
10:33anything away. Roy would have been proud
10:36of how carefully I handled everything
10:39that wasn't mine.
10:41I stacked it all by the retaining wall
10:43and covered it with the blue tarp from
10:45the shed, anchoring the corners with
10:48bricks from Roy's old flower border, dry
10:51and tidy and no longer under my roof.
10:55I sent one text to Shane and Haley both.
10:58Your belongings are under a tarp at the
11:01end of the driveway.
11:02Please pick them up before the rain on
11:05Thursday.
11:06Haley arrived in 20 minutes in her
11:08mother's sedan.
11:10She jumped out and stared at the tarp
11:13like it was a crime scene.
11:15You put my business out on the curb, she
11:18shrieked,
11:19marching toward my doorbell camera.
11:21Those candles are temperature sensitive.
11:24I pressed the intercom button.
11:27Then I put them in a climate-controlled
11:29car, Haley.
11:31This is insane. You're having a tantrum
11:34because we gave you honest advice.
11:37I took your advice, I said into the
11:39speaker. I'm making room. Drive safe.
11:43I shut off the mic and watched her from
11:45the window, sweating through her blouse
11:48as she hauled bins to the trunk.
11:51Gail sat in the passenger seat the whole
11:53time with her arms crossed, not lifting
11:56a finger.
11:58The next day was quiet. I didn't call.
12:01Neither did they.
12:03I knew they were scrambling because
12:05without my money, they had to look at
12:07how they actually lived, perhaps for the
12:09first time.
12:11On Wednesday afternoon, I was pruning
12:13roses along the front walk when Shane's
12:16truck pulled up to the curb.
12:19He climbed out slowly and came up the
12:21driveway with his hands in his pockets.
12:25He looked like he hadn't slept.
12:27Mom.
12:29I snipped a spent bloom. Hello, Shane.
12:32Haley's furious. She missed a vendor
12:35deadline because the internet was off.
12:38My phone got cut for two days until I
12:40paid the reconnection fee. I had to put
12:43it on a card with 24% interest.
12:47That sounds stressful.
12:49It is and it's unnecessary. You have the
12:53money, mom. You're just being
12:54vindictive.
12:56I set the shears in my basket and turned
12:58to face him.
13:00I'm being clear. I'm no longer paying
13:02for a lifestyle you can't afford.
13:05You're 36 years old, Shane. You have two
13:08children.
13:09It's time you acted like their father
13:11instead of my dependent.
13:13His face went red. He looked down at the
13:16walkway and I watched him decide to play
13:19the card I'd been waiting for.
13:21Haley says if you're going to treat us
13:24like this, she's not comfortable with
13:26the kids coming over.
13:28It landed exactly where it was aimed. I
13:31loved those two children more than I
13:33could say.
13:35Hudson, who liked to help me roll out
13:37pie dough.
13:38Ruby, who still fell asleep on my chest
13:40during movies.
13:42They knew precisely where I was soft.
13:45My throat tightened, but I kept my spine
13:48straight.
13:49I would not let them use a nine-year-old
13:52and a six-year-old as a bargaining chip
13:54for my checking account.
13:56I see, I said, keeping my voice flat.
14:00Then you and Haley will have to explain
14:03to your children why they can't see
14:04their grandmother because I stopped
14:06paying for the cable.
14:09That's a reflection on the two of you,
14:10Shane.
14:11Not on me.
14:13We just think it's best, he mumbled,
14:15until you fix this.
14:18Good afternoon, Shane.
14:20I went inside, locked the door, and
14:22leaned against it. Then I let myself cry
14:26for a few minutes, quietly, with my hand
14:28over my mouth.
14:30I prepared myself for a long winter
14:32without them. What I didn't count on was
14:35a nine-year-old with a stubborn streak.
14:38That night my phone buzzed with a text
14:40from Shane's number,
14:42but it wasn't Shane.
14:44Hi Grandma, it's Hudson. I'm using Dad's
14:46phone while he's in the shower. Mom is
14:49yelling about candles and Dad keeps
14:51saying he's stressed. Can I still come
14:54Sunday?
14:55I want to make the pie with you.
14:57I wiped my eyes and typed back. Always,
15:00sweetheart. Ask your dad. If he says no,
15:03I will still love you exactly the same.
15:06Sunday afternoon, I baked anyway, a
15:09peach pie out of habit, not knowing if
15:12anyone would come. At 5:55,
15:16a minivan I didn't recognize pulled into
15:18the driveway. A woman stepped out of the
15:20driver's seat and opened the back door.
15:23I recognized her after a second, Rita
15:26Reyes, Hudson's best friend's mother,
15:29from the baseball team.
15:31Hudson hopped out with his backpack, and
15:33behind him came Ruby, clutching a
15:35stuffed rabbit. Rita
15:38walked them up the path herself.
15:40Joyce, I hope this is all right, she
15:43said quietly. Hudson called me and asked
15:46if I'd bring them. He said he had a plan
15:49and he didn't want to cause a fight.
15:51I'll pick them up at 8:00.
15:54Does Shane know?
15:56Shane's working a double. Haley's at her
15:58mother's. Rita hesitated. Hudson's a
16:01smart kid. He heard a lot he wasn't
16:04supposed to.
16:05The children came in and I felt
16:07something loosen in my chest.
16:10I hadn't known was clenched.
16:12We rolled out dough, though we ended up
16:15using the one I'd already made.
16:17Ruby stuck her fingers in the peaches.
16:20Hudson, who had always been serious,
16:23waited until we were pressing the
16:24lattice before he said anything.
16:27Grandma, mom says you're being mean
16:30about the money.
16:31I kept my hands moving. What do you
16:34think?
16:35I think mom has too many things.
16:38He crimped the crust with a fork.
16:41I heard dad say they might not make the
16:43SUV payment, and mom said you should
16:45just cover it. And dad said it wasn't
16:48fair to keep asking you. And then mom
16:50said a word I'm not allowed to say.
16:53Hudson,
16:55I'm just telling you what happened.
16:57He looked up at me with Roy's eyes,
16:59honest as a clean window.
17:02You've never been mean to me. I don't
17:04want to stop coming here, even if mom is
17:06mad.
17:08I put my arm around his shoulders and
17:10kissed the top of his head. And I didn't
17:13trust myself to speak for a moment.
17:16At 7:15, the doorbell rang hard.
17:20On the camera, I saw Shane alone on the
17:22porch, still in his work boots,
17:25shoulders hunched, looking like a man
17:27who'd been wrung out. I told the kids to
17:30eat their pie and went out, pulling the
17:32door shut behind me.
17:34Rita told you, I said.
17:37Hudson left a note on the fridge. He
17:39rubbed his face. Mom, I need help.
17:42I crossed my arms against the evening
17:44chill.
17:45They're going to repossess the SUV
17:48Tuesday, and the electric company says
17:51they'll shut us off Friday.
17:53We're three months behind on the
17:55electric bill.
17:56His voice dropped. Haley put the utility
17:59money into a branding package for the
18:01candles.
18:03She said it would pay for itself.
18:05You both have jobs, Shane.
18:08It's a cash flow thing. I just need a
18:10loan, 1,500, and I'll pay you back on
18:13the first.
18:15I reached into my cardigan pocket.
18:18I had been carrying that folded page for
18:20a week.
18:21What's this?
18:23A ledger,
18:2416 payments, the monthly cost beside
18:27each one, and at the bottom,
18:30what I've spent covering your cash flow
18:32over the last 36 months.
18:34He read it under the porch light, and I
18:37watched the color leave his face as he
18:40reached the bottom line.
18:42$71,280.
18:46I didn't know, he whispered.
18:48I know you didn't. You never had to. I
18:52said it gently, but I didn't soften it.
18:55You sat at the table my husband and I
18:57paid for, and you saw a down payment.
19:00You told me I was living too large while
19:02I was financing every inch of your
19:04lifestyle.
19:06Mom, please, just the electric bill.
19:09No.
19:10The words sat there between us on the
19:13porch.
19:14You're going to let your grandkids sit
19:17in the dark?
19:18They're in my house eating pie with the
19:21lights on, I said. You have a kayak, a
19:24drum kit, and a wife with a closet full
19:26of retail. You'll figure it out. You
19:29have to.
19:30I turned for the door.
19:32Mom.
19:33His voice cracked on it. Haley's mother
19:36is telling her to leave. She says I'm
19:38not providing.
19:39I looked back. That sounds like a
19:42conversation for the three of you. The
19:44bank of mom is closed, Shane,
19:47permanently. But your children are
19:49welcome here whenever you decide to let
19:52them come.
19:53I locked the deadbolt, and the sound
19:56carried through the whole house.
19:59The repossession happened on Tuesday,
20:01and I didn't have to hear about it from
20:03anyone
20:04because Haley
20:06brought it to my door herself.
20:09At 7:20 that morning, the doorbell
20:11camera lit up.
20:13Haley stood on my porch in her bathrobe
20:16and a pair of rain boots, mascara down
20:18her cheeks with Gail behind her, holding
20:21a purse like a shield.
20:24Gail Sedan was still idling at the curb,
20:27and across the street, I could see my
20:29neighbor's blinds twitching from my own
20:31window.
20:32I opened the door to the length of the
20:34chain.
20:36They took the Tahoe, Haley said,
20:38with Ruby's booster seat still in it.
20:41Do you understand what you've done?
20:44I understand what I stopped doing, I
20:46said.
20:47You could fix this with one phone call.
20:50Her voice cracked and climbed.
20:53One call, Joyce. It's a car payment.
20:56You have Roy's life insurance sitting in
20:58an account doing nothing.
21:00I hadn't told her about Roy's life
21:02insurance.
21:04I had never once discussed it at that
21:06table. I looked past her at Gail, who
21:09suddenly became very interested in the
21:11maple tree.
21:13Gail, I said, did you tell her what's in
21:15my accounts?
21:17I only said a woman your age ought to be
21:19sensible, Gail snapped.
21:21Family helps family. Haley needs a
21:24vehicle to run her business.
21:26Your car insurance was my card for three
21:28years,
21:30I said. I never once heard her thank
21:32you.
21:33I heard that I should be ashamed.
21:35Gail's mouth tightened. That was a
21:38courtesy between relatives.
21:41It was a gift, and it's over.
21:43Haley turned on her mother then, the way
21:46a person does when the real culprit
21:48finally steps into the light. Mom, you
21:51told me she'd cave. You said if we
21:54pushed about the house, she'd sell in a
21:56month. You said she'd never really cut
21:59us off.
22:00Don't you put this on me,
22:02Gail said. And just like that, they were
22:05fighting on my porch in full view of
22:08Mrs. Pruitt, who had come out in her
22:10slippers to get her newspaper and had no
22:12intention of going back inside.
22:15Gail told Haley that she'd married a man
22:17with no backbone. Haley told Gail that
22:21she was the one who'd said they deserved
22:23Dublin.
22:25Gail said she refused to dragged down by
22:27a household that couldn't keep its
22:29lights on, and she marched down my walk,
22:33got into her sedan and drove off without
22:35her daughter.
22:37Haley stood there in her bathrobe with
22:39her arms hanging.
22:41Nobody to shout at but me.
22:43I'm not going to bail you out, Haley, I
22:46said quietly. I'll tell you what I will
22:48do. I'll love your children.
22:51I'll feed them pie.
22:53And when you can speak to me without a
22:55price attached, I'll listen.
22:57She didn't answer. She walked down to
23:00the corner in rain boots and a robe,
23:03pulling out her phone to call for a
23:04ride.
23:06The house in Dublin never happened, of
23:08course.
23:09The one they were living in was a
23:11stretch even with my money, and without
23:14it, they listed it within the month.
23:17There was a sign in the yard by
23:19Halloween.
23:20They sold it for barely enough to clear
23:22the mortgage and moved into a
23:24two-bedroom rental near Shane's work.
23:27Haley took a job at the front desk of a
23:30dental office.
23:31Shane sold the golf clubs, the drum kit,
23:34and the kayak. He also sold the truck
23:37and refinanced what was left, so my name
23:40came off that loan for good. The candles
23:42went into a clearance bin, and Haley
23:45sold the last of them herself at a table
23:48outside a craft fair for a dollar a jar.
23:52I didn't gloat. It's hard to enjoy
23:54watching your child learn at 36 what he
23:57should have learned at 22.
24:00But I didn't rescue them, and that was
24:02the hardest part.
24:04Meanwhile, my house got bigger in the
24:06best way.
24:08I had a contractor repaint the spare
24:10room a soft sage green, moved Roy's
24:14sewing cabinet back to where it belonged
24:16and turned it into a reading room with
24:18two armchairs and a view of the maple.
24:21I joined a garden club at church. I
24:24stopped flinching when my phone rang. I
24:27learned that the quiet in my house
24:28wasn't loneliness.
24:30Most days it was just peace.
24:338 weeks after the night, I canceled
24:35everything. I was kneeling in the front
24:38bed planting tulip bulbs when a shadow
24:41fell across the dirt. Shane stood on the
24:44sidewalk in a plain gray jacket holding
24:46two paper cups of coffee. He looked
24:49thinner and oddly steadier.
24:52Black no sugar, he said.
24:55Right. I took it. Thank you.
24:58I bought an old Honda with cash. We're
25:00in the rental and Haley's working.
25:03We canceled Christmas in Florida and she
25:06cried about it for a day.
25:08He swallowed, but it's the first time in
25:10years I've known what we have
25:13down to the dollar.
25:15Then he reached into his jacket and held
25:17out an envelope. Inside were three $50
25:21bills and a sheet of paper in his
25:23handwriting.
25:25It's not alone, he said. It's what I
25:28owe. 71,280.
25:31I wrote it out at 150 a month. It'll
25:34take me 40 years. I'm going to start
25:37anyway.
25:38I could have refused it.
25:40Roy would have said the money wasn't the
25:42point, but I understood that for Shane
25:45the money was exactly the point.
25:47So I folded the page, slipped it into my
25:50cardigan pocket and said,
25:52Thank you.
25:54I'm sorry, mom. I treated you like an
25:56ATM with a pulse. I said you were living
26:00too large when you'd been holding up my
26:02whole life. I never once asked how you
26:04were doing without dad.
26:07I didn't rush to comfort him. He needed
26:09to hold it for a while the way I'd held
26:12it.
26:13It hurt, Shane, I said, hearing my own
26:16son decide that my home was something to
26:18be liquidated for his convenience. But
26:21I'm asking you now.
26:23Sunday dinner is at 6:00. Haley is
26:26welcome if she can be kind. The minute
26:28my money, my house, or my choices come
26:31up at that table. Dinner is over and you
26:33walk yourselves out.
26:35Understood, he said, completely.
26:39Haley came the following Sunday.
26:41She stood in my doorway holding a
26:43store-bought pie and said,
26:45Joyce, I'm sorry.
26:48Her voice was small and a little stiff,
26:50but she said it without a single excuse.
26:52It wasn't warm yet, but it was a start.
26:55I took the pie and said, Come in, Haley.
26:57The roast is almost ready.
26:59Gail did not come and nobody asked after
27:02her.
27:03That evening, after the dishes were done
27:06and the children had been driven home,
27:08I sat at Roy's desk with the green lamp
27:11on.
27:12I wasn't looking at a single bill. I
27:14opened a travel site and picked out a
27:17two-week trip to the Scottish Highlands,
27:20the one Roy and I had always promised
27:22ourselves and kept putting off for
27:25something more practical.
27:27I chose the good tour with the private
27:29rooms and the castle stay and I clicked
27:32Book Now.
27:34You don't have to burn yourself down to
27:35keep other people warm.
27:37You're allowed to keep your home, your
27:40peace, and your own monies.
27:42And sometimes the most loving thing
27:45you can do for someone is to lock the
27:48door and let them learn to stand.
27:50My name is Joyce Matthews. I'm 63 years
27:54old and I am finally living exactly as
27:56large as I choose.
27:58Helping our children is something most
28:01parents do out of love and it can be
28:03hard to see where helping ends.
28:07Have you ever helped your grown children
28:09with money and started to feel more like
28:12a bank than a parent?

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