My mom is still trying to get me to take home one of grandma's silver tea set things. The thing is, I don't really have any use for one, no place to put one, and it really has no sentimental value. It's weird.

My grandfather had done some trust thing that was supposed to avoid estate taxes or something, but the wording had failed to take into account the possibility that my uncle (who was 15 when Grandpa died) might have kids while Grandma was still alive and controlling the trust. So Grandma left her personal estate to that grandson, which made sorting through her stuff both easier - anything of value belonged to Jon - and harder because she had a lot of stuff that wasn't really valuable but all kinds of sentimental and we had to figure that all out more or less on the fly and quickly because the house had to be sold. I think we did pretty well, there were no hurt feelings that I know of, except the inevitable suspicions that Grandma was mad at the rest of us and cut us out of her will though I am fairly sure that that was not the case - as my mom pointed out, if she had wanted to make a statement she would have left any offending parties $1 and mentioned them by name.

The other side of the family was a whole different kind of mess since Babushka was in the process of leaving her abusive second husband when she died and most of the problems centered on where she would be buried. Second husband won that battle, alas.

Honestly, the one of the harder parts I imagine, and have seen, is deciding that no one really wants that and yet feeling a bit bad that you don't want this thing that had value to them. Or admitting that while it is comfortingly familiar...it's really kind of hideous/ridiculous/pointless.

If I was told "Here's all of Mom's stuff that's left over, do what you want with it," and I find something that can go on eBay--some old cameras--am I justified in keeping any money from the sale for myself (and Hubby)?

Sure. "Do what you want with it" seems to cover "Sell it on eBay" to me.

What my mother did, out of fear that my sister and I would fight like the gingham dog and the calico cat, was to have us make lists of everything we wanted and give them to her. It turned out we only overlapped on about 10 things, so we fought those out. The list is with her will. Of course, we'll still fight, but maybe it will be about something else.

When my sisters and I were growing up, the will/trust my parents had planned included a clause that the estate wouldn't get cashed out until I was 35. They figured that if they happened to die while I was in high school, then my sisters would have gotten their college educations paid for before everything was divided by three, and I'd end up using my inheritance. Thus the delay mechanism to be sure I had a shot at getting college paid for, too.

Smart parents.

I went looking throug words without borders for the term you're looking for, juliana. Didn't find it, but this did amuse me. From Russian.

razbliuto

The confusing bundle of emotions felt by Russian males for their ex-girlfriends.

I know I'm getting Mom's dining room table, which was originally Great-Grandma's. Grandma remembered getting on her knees to dust the legs as a kid, Mom remembered doing the same, and it was always my task to do that, as well, so Mom told me when I was a teen that the table would be mine. Dad had rescued it from the barn when he first married Mom--one of the leaves had already warped while stored there, but Dad stripped and varnished the table and the other five leaves to make it presentable and usable for us heathen kids. It's not like it was ever going to be a valuable antique, so the refinishing didn't bother any of us, but I love the idea of having it.

My paternal grandmother had crocheted baby afghans for both of my brother's kids who were born before she died, and we found out after her funeral that she had made ones for both my sister's and my first babies as well. Well, neither of us are going to be having kids ever, but I'm keeping mine for the first one of my niece's or nephews' kids to be born.

I know Mom needs to update her will. All her sentimental and nice jewelry was stolen when we were kids and she only has a few pieces now that qualify.

I'm sure there's some variation of "everything is split between the kids" for both my parents wills but I don't know for sure.

ION turns out the teachers in Tenn. were bigger assholes than we originally thought. The whole "safety drill" was really a prank. [link]

They were at the class trip and teachers had been telling scary stories, so Quentin Mastin came up with the idea of telling the students that someone was driving around with a guy. Another teacher drove a car around and flashed the lights, while a third put on a sweatshirt and rattled the doors. The children were told to "do a code red".

When teachers realized some of the children were really scared, they turned on the lights and told them they had just been pretending.

"They took the opportunity to say, 'This was a prank, but if it had been an emergency, you did the right thing,"' she said.

Nice to add that after they'd scared the kids.

Honestly, the one of the harder parts I imagine, and have seen, is deciding that no one really wants that and yet feeling a bit bad that you don't want this thing that had value to them. Or admitting that while it is comfortingly familiar...it's really kind of hideous/ridiculous/pointless.

That happened when my great aunt died, and saddled one of my distant cousins with a white leather recliner that he didn't really want, but felt he had to take home with him since she had mentioned him by name in connection with it. It could only have been funnier if it were made from elephant hide rather than cow. At least I wanted and got a lot of use out of the desk she left me.