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A Happier Ending

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Casual Uncluttering LLC

I’m studying for my next Level II Certificate of Study with the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD): Aging. And I’m on the Board of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals Seattle Area Chapter. We have a lending library, and I just finished a tedious project of re-indexing our offerings. And “the Great Material Continuum, the force that binds the universe together: all the worlds in the universe have too much of one thing and not enough of other things, and the Continuum, like a river that goes from ‘have’ to ‘want’ and back again,” brought something to me in return. That’s mostly a quote from Episode 156 “Faith, Treachery and the Great River of Plenty of Star Trek Deep Space Nine (one of my absolute favorite episodes). The Great River of Plenty is an element of Ferengi (a Star Trek alien species) economic theory, or religion, depending on your druthers. They are a scrupulously acquisitive bunch.

 

Why the nonsensical meandering in this conversation? Because what drifted to me was painful, and what I’m studying makes it poignant. NAPO Seattle has a copy of My Mother’s GardenCynthia Lester‘s harrowing 2008 documentary about her mother Eugenia, a person with hoarding disorder, and its ravaging effects on Cynthia, Cynthia’s brothers and Eugenia. I’d been unsuccessfully looking for a copy for months, and there the DVD was, quietly waiting for me in a cardboard box. The film begins with Cynthia and her brothers returning to their childhood home for the first time in years, after her mother is threatened with a property seizure unless the house and grounds are cleaned up. Cynthia turned to prostitution in her young teens to survive, forced out because the garbage had overtaken any space for her to sleep. Her brothers resorted to equally crushing strategies. Eugenia never left. At the start of the film, she has brought the house and property to a state in which she barricades her possessions in, entering by a window when she wants something. She sleeps outside.

 

This film has a happier ending. Cynthia and her brothers carry themselves past their anger at their mother to clear and salvage the house. They find appropriate professional mental health support for her and a safe, loving assisted living facility for her as shelter. At the documentary’s end, Eugenia’s hoarding disorder is under control and she has transformed purpose, wholeheartedly caring for the more disabled members of her new community. She and her children are actively engaged in reconnecting and healing each other, together.

 

My ICD Aging studies are more disquieting. They starkly illustrate how inadequate our medical and employment-compensation systems are for allowing our Elders to live with peaceful dignity as long as possible. Eugenia’s family faced bankruptcy trying to care for her; only the fact that they could restore the house as a rental property generated income for their expenses. They found therapeutic tools for her and themselves, but only after weeks of exhausting hunts down gnarled paths. My studies demonstrate that many families won’t have resources at all, for reasons as varied as a lack of providers in their area, to non-existent savings or lapsed insurance coverage.

 

I can only urge that all of us begin conversations with our Seniors, and ourselves, and our children, as quickly as possible about end-of-life considerations. I’ll add resources to my Aging page whenever possible.

Comments (5)

Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Lauren,

Great suggestion re seniors.  A friend of ours is going through her mother's house and all the stuff she kept.  Economics are not a big issue in this instance, but the clearing that they had to do was something else.  She moved her out to their home, so that they could fix-it up to make it livable...  A

Aug 13, 2019 10:42 AM
Lauren Williams, CPO

Ron and Alexandra Seigel The effort to manage an estate can be absolutely exhausting. If your parent(s) lived long and active lives, the contrast in their latest years can be very unsettling, and the letting-go process wrenching. Lauren

Aug 15, 2019 08:47 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hello Lauren - interesting post as well as the program you're studying.

Aug 13, 2019 11:59 AM
Lauren Williams, CPO

Michael Jacobs Thank you.

Aug 15, 2019 08:48 AM
Sheila Anderson
Referral Group Incorporated - East Brunswick, NJ
The Real Estate Whisperer Who Listens 732-715-1133

Good afternoon Lauren. I struggled but got through this. I am happy I spent the time but hereafter please use a larger font for older eyes.

Aug 13, 2019 01:01 PM
Lauren Williams, CPO

Sheila Anderson Darn, I'm sorry, I forgot. I've been trying to use 12 and 14 point. Lauren

Aug 15, 2019 08:49 AM
Lottie Kendall
Compass - San Francisco, CA
Helping make your real estate dreams a reality

Lauren, you've brought up a problem that too often remains silent, but is all too common. I wish the movie's ending could happen in real life more often.

Aug 13, 2019 03:50 PM
Lauren Williams, CPO

Lottie Kendall Yes, you and I both. Lauren

Aug 15, 2019 08:50 AM
Leif Price
Chirpy Home - Portland, OR
Blogger at Chirpy Home

Wish it could end as happy as the movies. Life has its own complexities and this adds to the matter.

Aug 13, 2019 06:37 PM
Lauren Williams, CPO

Leif Price Yes, very true.

Aug 15, 2019 08:45 AM