2020 was a difficult time for many, protecting themselves and their loved ones amidst the pandemic. It was also a source of distress for many homemakers, given the added responsibilities of homeschooling while simultaneously working from home.
From having stable jobs in 2019, a couple suddenly struggled to pay rent in 2020 after the wife was forced to homeschool their children. As she could no longer juggle her work responsibilities, she found herself jobless and without a source of income.
What Happened to the Family?
The couple relied extensively on their combined income to pay for their living expenses. When they could no longer afford the rent, they reached out to the husband’s mother for a place to live while they tried to get their financial affairs in order.
Initially, the woman agreed to let them use two bedrooms in her home. However, she backed out when she discovered they were evicted and had no place to live.
Frustrated and without a home, the husband and wife searched for homeless shelters that could take them along with their three children. Given the COVID-19 situation, finding an open shelter was extremely difficult.
For four months, the family of five lived inside their van. Throughout that period, and even when they moved to a homeless shelter after, the husband’s mother barely contacted them.
At this point, both husband and wife were harboring ill feelings toward the husband’s mom, who could have easily offered them a place to stay. To make matters worse, the husband’s sister made them feel bad about themselves whenever they asked to shower in her house despite offering to pay.
“We were looked at like we were scum because we were over the age of 30, had three kids, and didn’t have our [expletive] together,” the wife recalled. It frustrated her that these criticisms came from her sister-in-law, who inherited her house from her late dad and hadn’t paid her taxes in at least four years.
What Did the Couple Do?
Their harrowing situation motivated the couple to work hard. They didn’t want their children to grow up in such a traumatizing environment, so they persevered to get back on their feet.
Eventually, they were able to build a home from scratch. Their three children were excited to have a place to call home and were happier than ever.
The couple fool-proofed their finances to ensure they never end up homeless again. Aside from their work, they have a business to generate more income.They were glad to have done this together, without help from anybody else. After all, when they asked for help, their families shut the doors on their faces and gave them empty promises.
Desperate and with nowhere else to turn, the woman knocked on her son and daughter-in-law’s new home.
Admittedly, the couple never forgave their family members for turning their backs on them when they needed help most. They didn’t like how they were treated and couldn’t believe they left their kids homeless.
One day, the wife discovered her mother-in-law was in a sticky situation. Due to her slow-paced work, she was demoted to part-time, and the government stripped her retirement.
She was on the verge of being evicted from her home. She received a lease termination letter and two notices of eviction.
Desperate and with nowhere else to turn, the woman knocked on her son and daughter-in-law’s new home. “She came here yesterday afternoon and asked us if she could stay here,” the woman said of her mother-in-law.The wife couldn’t help but laugh at her mother-in-law’s audacity. She couldn’t believe she was at their front door asking for a place to live when she couldn’t offer the same graciousness when they needed it the most.
“There’s no chance of that happening,” she firmly said. Her mother-in-law was offended by her reaction.
The woman looked at her son, hoping for him to defend her. But all she got was a blank stare and firm body language that he was siding with his wife and not her.
Her son had grown resentful for how she allowed her grandchildren to sleep in a van for four months. She promised them a place to sleep, but when they needed it, she bailed on them.The woman left crying, defending herself by saying the two situations were “entirely different.” She ran to her daughter and told her what happened.Moments later, the husband’s sister called him in disbelief, claiming he was for not allowing their elderly mother to move in.
It was unclear why she couldn’t offer her mom a place to stay when she had a home herself. However, the husband and wife stood by their decision to deny his mother’s request. Instead, they suggested a nursing home, which just opened down the street. They didn’t understand why they needed to open their doors to someone who couldn’t do the same for them.