Thanks thoughtful1 for suggesting this type of thread. I'm going to go back several months, (actually a few year briefly), and catch up with now, so that you know what is going on. Then everyone else needs to start one also.

My Mom and I were always close, every time I went to her house she would give me money. She would just walk up and put $100 in my hand, or slip $200-300 in my pocket, she had to make sure my Dad didn't know. The thing was there for a long time I was making more than her and Dad combined, but she still had to slip me money, that is just what she did for me, but not my brother, or sister.
Mom passed away several months ago. It was a long illness, and her last day was a long day, as she was too stubborn to give up and die. I used that time wisely, and by the time she took her last breath, I had dealt with losing her, so it wasn't that hard on me, right then. I still cry when I think about it thought. So just a few weeks ago, my Dad comes over to my house, and sits down and chats for a couple of minutes, and says he has something for me, reaches in his shirt pocket, and pulls out a check, and hands it to me, it's a check from an insurance company, and it is for what to me is a very large amount of money. I looked at him and asked "what the......"? It seems that unknown to him, Mom had her life insurance set up so that it would be split between Dad and the tree kids. My first thought was, 'even from the grave she is giving me money". Of course thinking that I started crying.

that was on Saturday, I spent some time the next few days, and made a small list of things that I wanted/needed to do, and then I was putting the rest into a savings account and not touching it for anything. So I got up Monday morning, went to the bank, open a savings account, took out just enough to do the first thing on my list. Went and took care of that. Right as I finished that, and got back in the car, my garage called, they had my wife's car to work on. He had told me he thought it was one thing, after he tore into the engine, he found out the engine was completely blown, and it would cost more to put an engine in it, than it was worth, actually it would cost twice what the car was worth. I just hung my head. Well at least I've got the money right now I'll just have to by her a new car. So we went and bought another used car. Got home and the air conditioner had quit.Well at least I've got the money. Bought a new airconditioner, took my son for new glasses, as his had been broke for six months, and just taped together, find out he's probably got glaucoma, so two very expensive test. Then the car we just bought started overheating, carried it to the shop, they had to tear the entire engine apart, to get to the problem, as long as they were in there they might as well replace these other parts, instead of having the pay the 7 hr labor to tear back into it, again very expensive. Then something else comes up, every expensive, then have to take my son to a surgeon, to have laser surgery on his eyes. again very expensive, so I get online to transfer enough money from savings to checking so I can pay for the procedure, I get into the bank website, and look at the balance of the savings account, I have just enough left to pay for the procedure the next day, then I'm broke again. I busted out crying uncontrollably, it wasn't that the money was gone, it wan't that once again we got ahead, and enough bad happened to bring us right back down, and even a few steps backward. It wasn't the stress of everything going on, no none of that. What hurt me so bad, is that money is the last thing my Mom will ever give me, and I wanted to keep it. But it's gone. I have lost the last thing she gave me, I'll never get anything else from her. And that hurts. It hurts as bad as losing her. WHY,, WHY COULDN'T I KEEP IT" Why did all that sturff have to ahppen, why can't I ever get ahead, Wy did it have to be the last thing she gavemewhy