A Reprieve

This past New Year’s Eve, my hubby and I received a little bit of bittersweet news. Hubby’s Aunt had passed away in the U.K. (in November – we knew this), and the official legal letter we got in the mail was announcing to us that Hubby is a beneficiary – one of nine – of her estate.

These things are kind of awkward to me. They’re sad occasions that come with good news, so the accompanying emotions are really mixed up. I have never specifically received an inheritance, to speak of. My grandmother passed away in 2003 and left me $100, which was very touching. It was nice to have been thought of, as I am one of 10 grandkids. My parents got a lot more, and used it to buy a behemoth boat, dubbed the “Thanks Mom”, which we have all enjoyed for 5 years. When my great uncle died, he left it all to my dad (+mom) and his siblings (+ spouses), so that generation got to divvy it up as they saw fit. It was once again a pretty generous amount (he was a single dude with investments), so my parents shared with us, giving each kid $2,000 at Christmastime. That was a terrific gift that made me cry like a baby, and I promptly invested the whole amount. It lost a bunch of money (thanks Scotiabank!) but is now bouncing back.

So when this letter came, our imaginations did two things: raced forward to the highest dollar amount possible, and then put the brakes on. We had no idea. We didn’t want to count our chickens. We wanted to take the time to process it, and to honour his aunt accordingly, as it was quite unexpected and very touching. My husband has a small and distant family – the surviving members are a hoot and I love them very much, but they live in Austria, Germany, England, Calgary – but he has not much in the way of safety net and is, technically and financially, an orphan. An orphan who was left on his own, in much debt, right out of university, with zero assets.

This gift-from-above represents, to me, his family finally looking after him in a financial way that a lot of the rest of us can usually count on throughout our lives, doled out as money for books, help with tuition, first month’s rent, borrowing the car, etc. This is his net. As he is still, unfortunately, swimming in student loans, this net could help him get out of the water.

Then the other day, we finally received the letter detailing dollar amounts. It was more than we’d imagined, even at our highest estimates. This influx is finally enough to get us out of debt (though we will keep our mortgage), meaning that there are no more student loans, no more car payments, no more renovation payments, and that we are now the proud owners of a 14’ fishing boat with trailer and all the trimmings. My husband is a happy camper. I am a happy camper. We are in celebration mode.

And on top of all of that debt-canceling, the best part is, we can finally start looking for a piece of cottage property to start working on our dream: a home-made cottage, to be used by our family, friends, and perhaps renters, on a lake where hubby can fish and I can dive off the dock, knowing that week after week the dock is mine to dive off of. This dream is still years in the distance, but I can now taste it. And do you know what? It tastes like mojitos, barbecued chicken and ribs, fresh-caught fried fish, crisp salads, and cedar.

Thank you Eileen.