Son Sees His Old Mother’s Will and Orders Her to Pack Her Stuff Immediately — Story of the Day

A son discovers his mother’s will and what he reads in it makes him tell her to pack her bags immediately and get ready to leave his house.

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Gerald Nizbit stared at the text on his screen in astonishment, then he picked up the phone. “Helen,” he said crisply to his assistant. “Get me my lawyer on the phone, then Margaret Pratt, then my mother — in that order!”

Helen had been Gerald’s personal assistant for ten years, and she knew he wasn’t a particularly patient man, so she immediately started calling his attorney. In his office, Gerald was staring at the screen and shaking his head in disbelief. Oh, he was going to pay her back for this!

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash

Finally, Helen managed to get hold of the lawyer and put him through. “Sam,” said Gerald crisply. “Old boy, I just wanted to advise you that you committed a faux pas! You sent me my mother’s will for approval instead of sending it to her.”

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On the other side of the line, the lawyer blustered his apologies and embarrassment, but Gerald had said what he wanted to say so he quickly dismissed him and hung up. He sat staring out of his huge floor-to-ceiling window at the snowy New York skyline until the phone rang again.

This time it was Margaret Pratt. Gerald outlined his requirements succinctly, and told her, “I want it for today, Miss Pratt.” He listened to her objecting on the other side of the line then interjected.

“If you can’t get it sorted, I’ll go to someone who can.” The response on the other side of the line made him smile grimly. “This afternoon then, at 17:00,” he said and hung up.

He picked up the internal phone. “Helen, you can get me my mother now,” he said.

Within seconds, the ever-efficient Helen was patching through Mrs. Edith Nezbit. “Mother!” Gerald said. “Have two things to tell you. First of all Sam Kelson sent me your new will by mistake…and I want you to pack your bags immediately.”

Sitting in the lounge of Gerald’s gorgeous house where she lived with him Edith was speechless. “Gerald…Are you upset about the will? Please let me explain…”

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For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash

True value is what is attributed by the heart.

“I don’t need your explanations, Mother, I need you to have your bags packed and be ready to leave by 16:00,” Gerald said, and hung up. Edith sat there with her heart pounding. She’d thought Gerald would understand!

He was the youngest of her three children, and the one who’d always stood by her, helped her through the difficulties of life, and when Edith’s arthritis threatened to cripple her this last year, even though she was only 62, had taken her home to live with him.

Edith went upstairs to her room and packed her bags. Yes, she’d left all her money to her two older children, but she honestly thought Gerald would understand. Edith stared at her suitcase with tears blurring her vision.

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She had hurt her most beloved and kindest child! She had to explain! Edith called Gerald’s housekeeper to help her with her suitcase and went downstairs to wait anxiously for Gerald.

At 16:00 there he was, punctual as ever. He walked in, gave her a brief peck on the cheek and Edith cried, “Please Gerald. let me explain!”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash

“I don’t have time for explanations, Mother. Come,” he said. “Everything is arranged.” He picked up Edith’s bag and carried it out to his car and put it in his trunk. Edith got into the car without a word.

Gerald drove without saying a word. “Where are we going, Gerald?” Edith asked, but Gerald chose that exact moment to turn on the radio and didn’t answer her. Edith looked around. She’d never been to this part of the city before…

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“Listen, Gerald, about the will…” Edith said bravely.

“Oh, the will!” said Gerald, glancing over at his mother and frowning. “The will in which you leave your house and $120,000 in savings to be divided between Amy and Oliver, and I get the old cabin by the lake and grandfather’s photos from the war, and dad’s watch?”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash

“Yes…” whispered Edith. “You see…” But right then Gerald stopped the car. They had arrived at what appeared to be a small private airport, and a sleek private jet was waiting.

Gerald turned to Edith, and there were tears in his eyes. “Oh, mom, I understand about the house and the money. Amy and Oliver are struggling and I have more money than I could ever spend.

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“But what you are leaving me, mom, shows me how well you understand me. You know exactly what is important to me and close to my heart. I have all the money I need but the memories you are giving me are precious!”

“But Gerald…” gasped Edith. “I thought you were kicking me out!”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash

Gerald grinned. “No such luck! I’m taking you to Tahiti for two weeks. I think it would do your arthritis the world of good, and I could use some quality time with my mom!”

Edith embraced her youngest — and secretly her favorite son, with tears in her eyes. He’d understood! Edith knew that her father and her husband’s keepsakes would be cherished and passed on lovingly by Gerald.

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The two spent a lovely time in Tahiti, and Gerald got himself a tan and even met a lovely girl who was also on vacation and came from New York and it looked to Edith like maybe she wouldn’t have to wait too long for those grandchildren after all!

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

What can we learn from this story?

  • Don’t judge people’s intentions by your own fears. Edith was afraid her son would be angry over her will so she thought he was throwing her out.
  • True value is what is attributed by the heart not what something costs. For Gerald, the photos, the watch, and the old cabin were more precious than millions of dollars.

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

My wife had been marking tally counts on her hands — when I discovered what she was tracking, I turned pale

When I noticed my wife drawing strange tally marks on her hand, I shrugged it off as a quirky habit. But as those marks multiplied and her answers remained cryptic, I realized something much darker was lurking beneath the surface of our seemingly happy marriage.

“Married life is great, right?” I would say to my friends when they asked. And for the most part, it was. We’d only been married for a few months, and I was still getting used to being a husband. My wife, Sarah, was always so organized, so thoughtful. She had a way of making everything seem effortless.

But then, something changed. I started noticing a strange habit of hers. One day, she pulled a pen out of her purse and made a small tally mark on the back of her hand. I didn’t think much of it at first.

“Did you just mark your hand?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She smiled and shrugged. “Just a reminder.”

“A reminder for what?” I laughed, thinking it was a joke. But she didn’t answer. She just changed the subject.

Over the next few weeks, she did it more and more. Some days, there’d be only one or two marks. Other days, five or more. Then there’d be days with nothing at all. It seemed random, but it bothered me. What was she keeping track of?

The more I noticed, the more I started to worry. It was like she was keeping a secret from me, and that secret was slowly eating away at our happiness.

One night, I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Sarah, what’s with the tally marks?” I asked as we were getting ready for bed. “You do it all the time now.”

She glanced at the marks on her hand, then looked at me with that same mysterious smile. “It helps me remember things, that’s all.”

“Remember what?” I pressed.

“It’s just… things,” she said, brushing me off like it was nothing. “Don’t worry about it.”

But I did worry. A lot. I started paying closer attention. She’d mark her hand after dinner. After we argued. After we watched a movie. There was no pattern I could see.

One evening, I counted the marks on her hand: seven. That night, I watched as she transferred them into a small notebook by her bedside table. She didn’t know I was watching.

I decided to check her notebook the next morning. I waited until she was in the shower, then flipped through the pages. Each page had rows and rows of tally marks. I counted them—68 in total.

I sat on the bed, staring at the notebook in my hands. What did this number mean? What was she counting?

I tried asking her again a few days later.

“Sarah, please tell me what those marks are for. It’s driving me crazy.”

She sighed, clearly annoyed. “I told you. It’s just something I do. It helps me remember.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” I snapped. “What are you remembering? Are you keeping track of something? Someone?”

“Just drop it, okay?” she said, her voice sharp. She looked at me, her eyes pleading. “Please, just let it go.”

But I couldn’t let it go. The marks started to feel like a wall between us. Every time I saw her make a new one, it was like she was putting up another brick, shutting me out.

I became obsessed with the number 68. What was so important about it? I noticed I was being more careful around her, almost like I was afraid to give her a reason to add another mark. But then the marks would still appear, no matter what I did.

One night, after another tense conversation, I watched her add four new marks to her hand. I needed to know what was happening. I needed to figure this out before it drove me mad. But I had no idea how to get the truth out of her. And that scared me more than anything.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that our entire marriage was on the line, and I was helpless to stop whatever was happening between us. I left for several days to see if it changed anything. Well, the tally count has increased to 78 by the time I returned.

The obsession with Sarah’s tally marks was eating me alive. I needed a break from it, but everywhere I looked, I saw her hand with those little black lines, like they were taunting me. So, when Sarah suggested we visit her mother, I thought it would be a good distraction.

Her mother, Diane, and her fifth husband, Jake, lived in a cozy house in the suburbs. It was a typical Saturday afternoon visit: tea, cookies, and small talk. Sarah and her mom were in the kitchen, chatting and laughing. I excused myself to use the bathroom.

As I passed by the guest bedroom, something caught my eye. There, on the nightstand, was a notebook. It looked just like the one Sarah kept by her bed. I hesitated, but curiosity got the better of me. I stepped inside, glancing over my shoulder to make sure no one was watching.

I opened the notebook, my hands trembling. Inside, there were pages filled with tally marks, just like Sarah’s. But there was more. Next to the marks were labels: “interrupting,” “raising voice,” “forgetting to call.” Each tally had a label, like it was keeping track of mistakes.

“What the hell is this?” I muttered under my breath.

I felt a chill run down my spine. Was this some kind of family tradition? Was Sarah’s mom counting her own mistakes? Were they both holding themselves to these impossible standards?

I closed the notebook and returned to the living room, trying to act normal, but my mind was spinning. Sarah noticed my unease.

“You okay?” she asked, concern in her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied. “Just thinking about work.”

We stayed for another hour, but I was barely present. My thoughts kept drifting back to that.

On the drive home, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Sarah, I need to ask you something,” I said, gripping the steering wheel.

She looked at me, puzzled. “What’s up?”

“I saw your mom’s notebook today. It looked a lot like yours. Is this something you both do? Are you counting your mistakes? You don’t have to be perfect, you know. You don’t need to keep track of every little thing.”

There was a moment of silence, then she let out a bitter laugh.

“You think I’m counting my mistakes?”

“Well, yeah,” I said, relieved she was finally opening up. “You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. It’s okay to mess up sometimes.”

She shook her head, staring out the window. “I’m not counting my mistakes, Jack. I’m counting yours.”

The words hit me like a punch in the gut. “What?”

“Every time you break one of your vows, I make a mark,” she said quietly. “When you interrupt me, when you don’t listen, when you say you’ll do something and don’t. I’ve been keeping track since our wedding.”

On our wedding day, I promised Sarah the world in my vows. I vowed never to lie, to always listen without interrupting, and to be there every time she needed me, no matter what. It was a long list of grand, heartfelt promises that sounded perfect in the moment, but looking back, they were almost impossible to keep.

I felt the blood drain from my face. “You’re counting my mistakes? Why?”

“Because I want to know when I’ve had enough,” she said, her voice breaking. “When you reach 1,000 marks, I’m leaving.”

I pulled the car over, my heart pounding. “You’re going to leave me? For breaking some stupid promises?”

“They’re not stupid promises,” she snapped. “They’re our wedding vows, Jack. You made them to me, and you’ve broken every single one.”

I stared at her, stunned. How had we gotten here? How had I missed this? I’d thought she was being hard on herself, but I was the one who’d been careless, dismissive. I wanted to be angry, but I couldn’t. I was too shocked, too hurt.

When we got home, I couldn’t sleep. I called Diane, desperate for answers.

“Sarah told me what she’s doing,” I said. “Why didn’t you stop her?”

Diane sighed. “I did the same thing with my past husbands. I thought it would help, but it just drove us apart. It ruined my marriages.”

“Then why let her—”

“I tried to tell her,” she interrupted gently. “But she needs to see it for herself. I count good days now, Jack. Good things my husband does. It changed everything.”

I hung up, feeling more lost than ever. I could only hope that my mother-in-law’s words fell on fertile ground.

That evening, Sarah came home with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around me. “I didn’t realize how much this was hurting us.”

I held her close, feeling a mix of relief and hope. “Let’s forget the tally marks,” I said softly. “Let’s start fresh.”

The next day, I bought a new notebook—one for us to fill with good memories and happy moments. We made our first entry that night, writing about a quiet dinner we shared, laughing and talking like we hadn’t in months.

As we moved forward, the notebook became a symbol of our promise to focus on the positives and grow together. The tally marks were gone, replaced by stories of joy, love, and gratitude. We were finally on the same page, and it felt like the beginning of something beautiful.

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