Straws and camels.

I got a call from the nice young man who was handling our re-financing on our mortgage, he needed me to return his call before end of business day.  Four days later, different time zones, weekend, telephone tag, I finally get the young man on the phone.  He hemmed, he stammered a bit, he finally told me that we had been denied.  He hesitated, then he said that according to multiple credit reporting agencies, Douglas is dead.

Poor young man, he paused, then he gently asked me if Douglas was dead. I said “Oh hell no, I saw him this morning.”  He didn’t believe me, I could tell.  He said he believed me.  I told him our son was dead, but that so far Doug was still breathing.

I won’t bore you with the tedious hoops that must now be jumped through to prove that Douglas isn’t dead.  Of course, he can’t fill out the on-line stuff, well, because he is dead.  So a dead person has to do paper forms and submit two forms of identification.  It is okay to laugh, I am actually starting to laugh.

Our credit rating will take multiple hits because of multiple requests for our credit reports. We pay our bills, through God’s grace, no cleverness on our part.  We even kept up with all our bills when Doug was laid off, God’s grace, no kudos on our part.  We sucked our retirement funds dry, again, God’s grace that we even had put money aside. Now, we just wanted to reduce our interest rate.  That’s all.

Two things, bereaved parents, watch your financial backs. We are pretty sure someone screwed up somewhere when Justin died and mixed up the social security numbers. We also had strange credit card hits from a small town near Justin out in South Dakota.  There are opportunists out there who prey on the vulnerable.

The next, if you get a chance, read Ben Carson’s book “America the Beautiful”.  He is a world renowned neurosurgeon, author, smart guy.  I am only half-way through the book, but it is a captivating read.  Excellent book on parenting actually, and an eye-opener on the condition of this country.  I find it simply written, which is good, makes it possible for me to read and comprehend the complex subjects he tackles.  We need to get back to what made America beautiful.  Our lives are so complicated and bogged down with paperwork, forms, bureaucracy – we have no time to live.  No time to focus on what is truly important.

Life is so very short, too short to waste filling out forms.

 

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Terri Written by:

I am a wife and mother of two sons. Our eldest, Justin, was killed in a car accident September 27, 2010, he was 25 years old.

5 Comments

  1. Liz
    February 26, 2013

    “Hell no, I just saw him this morning”!LOL!! I love you!! I already ordered this book…should be here soon.
    Liz

  2. Lois Ann Keller-Poole
    February 26, 2013

    Experienced similar frustrations in being POA and legal guardian for my mother who could not sign her name. Unbelievable amounts of extra paperwork (hello,if she could sign her name I wouldn’t be handling all of her “stuff”)to prove by various means and forms and letters that she was incapable of signing something. So many hours of work, so many calls to accomplish what should not be so difficult and time-consuming. I feel for you and your situation is worse than mine was

    On a brighter note, I remember hopping up from my daughter’s bedside in the PICU circa 2011 at Hopkins when I heard that Ben Carson was coming down the hallway. Just had to say “Hi” and get a glimpse of this very special man. He is known for his medical expertise but is so much more than that.

  3. Dawn
    February 26, 2013

    Thank you for doing this blog and for all of your entries.

  4. Dawn
    February 26, 2013

    Thank you for doing this blog and for all of your entries. I stumbled on your blog and showed interest due to my son passing. I’ve identified with many of your thoughts and feelings.

  5. February 26, 2013

    Thank you for doing this blog and for all of your entries. I stumbled on your blog after my son had passed. I’ve identified and appreciated you sharing your thoughts, feelings, experiences.

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