But She Forced Them

Eye-Opening Moments Unleashed are real-life stories of adversity, encounters, and perspectives intertwined. They are moments that can lift your spirits, give you some food for thought, or move you. For the introspective mind that likes to reflect, discover, and find solutions or meaning in a complex life, this is for you. In this episode you will hear about But She Forced Them.

                                                                                       
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Transcript

Hello and welcome to episode #233 of Eye-Opening Moments Unleashed where you’ll hear stories of adversity, encounters, and perspectives intertwined. They are moments that can lift your spirits, give you some food for thought, or move you. For the introspective mind that likes to reflect, discover, and find solutions or meaning in a complex life, this is for you. I’m your host Emily Kay Tan. In this episode, you will hear about But She Forced Them.

But She Forced Them

For my birthday, I got a velvety purple dress with solid deep purple on the bottom half and a pattern of purple elephants with a white background on the top half.

It was beautiful, with long sleeves and a fabric choker attached, but my grandmother forced my mother to buy me a present for my sixth birthday.

Leaving for college, I jumped for joy that I found a way to finance my education without the help of relatives; I got a sizable scholarship, a part-time job, a bank loan, and government assistance.

Three months after starting college, I received fifty dollars in the mail on my birthday. It was from my mother, but grandma had forced her to give me some money for college.

Happy to have survived paying for college with my resources, I invited my grandmother, who was always caring and supportive, even though she was too poor to help me financially.

She told me to invite my parents; I refused because they contributed nothing to my college education. But Mom and Dad came to my graduation because Grandma forced them to come.

After graduating from college, I needed an apartment and a job. Ecstatic that I got a job, I was ready to find an apartment, and I found one from a newspaper clipping.

Because I hadn’t received my first paycheck yet, I didn’t have the money for the first and last month’s rent. Grandma offered to help, but she forced my parents to pay the two-month down payment for me.

While I was happy to be getting married, I was also stressed about all the plans and expenses involved, but I was working and had the money.

Grandma said Mom would help with the flowers, but when it came time to pick them up and pay for them, Mom told me to go pick them up; in other words, she would have me pay for them.

This time, I put my foot down in fury. Too often, my parents didn’t care for me in any way. This time, I was going to make them pay!

I called my dear grandmother and told her my mom told me to go pick up the flowers and pay for them. Grandma said Mom would pay, but I told her she had said otherwise.

Grandma called Mom. Mom went and picked up the flowers and paid for them. I am incredibly thankful for my grandmother, who always showed me care.

Every time Mom or Dad paid or showed up for something, my grandmother forced them to do it, or they did it reluctantly because I was the daughter they had given away at five.

Even though Grandma forced Mom and Dad to take some responsibility as parents, I must thank her for all the love she gave me. Without her, I might not be alive and well today.

Key Takeaway: Though Grandma forced my parents to take some responsibility for doing a few things for me, I thank Grandma for all her love.

Next week, you will hear a new real-life story called Our Punctuations in Life. If you enjoyed this episode of Eye-Opening Moments Unleashed, please text someone and ask them what they think about this podcast, or go to www.inspiremereads.com and leave a message. Thank you for listening!