Be responsible

Never dreamed my previous post would cause a stir! Controversey is not my forte - I usually will walk away from it. But, not this time!

I worked hard all of my life and saved every penny I could over the years - only to have family members wipe me out - not once, but twice. My original savings account grew to nearly $90,000.00 (yes, ninety thousand dollars) - my parents stole every penny without my knowledge while I was living in Germany as a military spouse. What did they have to show for that money? NOTHING! Booze, booze, and more booze was their primary expenditure. They never had a pot to pee in nor a window to throw it out of all of their lives. Their existence depended upon what they could take from others rather than work for it themselves. I strove hard and mightily to NOT BE LIKE THEM.

Most of my working years (which were many, by the way) there were no such perks as a 401K, no company sponsored investments of any kind into which one could deposit funds. In fact, medical insurance only became available to me when I was 45 years old! I, along with many in my age group, were led down the proverbial garden path by wonderfully phrased spoutings from the powers that be in our government that social security "will always be there to assist the elderly."

Somehow, though, I managed to recoup and saved AGAIN. Put my savings into Certificates of Deposit, which afforded me some sort of security for my so-called "golden years." Another member of my family (and I promised I would NEVER cite the name or relationship to me) raided my accounts over the internet five years ago and wiped me out AGAIN. Rationale was "she will never find out because I can pay this money back before she knows it is gone." Suffice it to say, I did find out, the money was gone forever (spent on heaven only knows what), and I couldn't even afford an attorney to recover that which no longer existed!

To the two young men who posted their comments yesterday, I hope you return to my site and read this posting. I closely read your comments and appreciate your opinions. Thank goodness for the right to voice them! However, it is important that you know I have lived by the following premise: It's not worth having unless you work for it and earn it yourself.

The money I've received from social security hasn't yet made a dent in the funds I paid in over my productive years. Never, and I repeat, NEVER have I contemplated begging others to give me money. Even now, in my advanced years and with my declining health, would I give credence to the idea that begging for money from others would be an acceptable option.

In our youth, we think we know all the answers to all the questions. In our mid-life we learn how smart our elders have suddenly become. In our senior years we realize we must face the disdain of the younger generation because we dared to grow old.

During this process of growing from young to old, hopefully, we truly come to understand the meaning of responsibility. We, each of us, is responsible for ourselves - what we say, what we do, where we go, what we become, who we choose to be, how we act.

My opinion remains firm: Rather than beg from others, be responsible enough to do for yourself. The pride of achievement attained from doing so is priceless.