Oh, the pleasures of family dynamics; those complex networks of affection, animosity, and, it seems, rent. What if I told you a small story from the front lines of my own soap opera to start things off?
Imagine this: Dad recently passed away and went to the great beyond, leaving Mom sad and alone. So, of course, I propose that she move in with us, partly out of compassion and partly out of sheer guilt. You know, to socialize with the grandchildren and take in the warmth of family.
Now enter my spouse, who has obviously been attending the “How to Be a Loving Family Man” course. His initial response was a firm no, but after some deft haggling on my part, he reluctantly agreed—but only under one condition. The worst part, get ready: my distraught mother would have to pay the rent.
You did really read correctly. Pay rent. in a home that we currently own and are not renting. Start the crying or laughing. His logic? He replied, grinning in a way that I can only characterize as evil, “Your mother is a leech.” “After she moves in with us, she won’t go.”
His reasoning continued, a train on the loose about to crash down a precipice. She simply doesn’t make sense to utilize anything for free when she will consume our food and electricity. This residence is not a hotel, and she has to know that!
With my blood boiling, I knew something was wrong. The reason for this issue is that I wedded a man who seemed to believe he was the Ritz-Carlton’s management. How daring! Here we are, with equal rights to the house, having both contributed to its acquisition, and he’s enacting capitalist regulations as if we were operating a profit-making Airbnb.
The worst part is that my spouse isn’t a horrible person. Really, no. He and my mother have simply disagreed from the beginning. He told me the truth about how he really felt the night he turned into Mr. Rent Collector. “Ever since I met her, your mother has detested me. She wouldn’t feel at ease living with me right now.
I am therefore torn between my mother, who is in great need of her daughter’s support, and my husband, whom I really love despite his imperfections. I ask you, dear reader, the million-dollar question: What should I do? In true dramatic manner. Shall I rent my mother a room or my husband’s empathy?
Rescue takes in severely matted dog who looks like a wig — today she’s unrecognizable
It’s truly remarkable the difference a haircut can make, especially for a dog. Many stray and neglected dogs go ungroomed, causing them distress as their fur becomes tangled and matted.
Recently, one stray dog was found with so much fur she “looked like a wig” — until a rescue gave her a life-changing makeover.
Mac’s Mission, a special needs dog rescue nonprofit based in Missouri, recently rescued a severely matted dog found in the middle of the road. The dog, now named Pear, was in terrible shape, completely covered in thick, matted fur.
The rescue wrote that Pear “didn’t even look like a dog” but rather “looked like a wig” — “just a wad of hair.”
The rescue took her in and a team of volunteers got to work helping Pear, giving her a “spa session” to remove all her dirty fur.
“We got her cleaned up, shaved down, and a bath to get rid of any grime and fleas,” rescue founder Rochelle Steffentold Newsweek. “She got settled into one of our spaces and fell asleep pretty quickly.”
Throughout the process, Pear was a patient good girl: “She was the sweetest and just sat there while we got all the terrible thick matts of her which took quite a while.”
She added that Pear thankfully did not have maggots in her fur, and said the dog was lucky she didn’t get hit by a car. However, Pear is missing an eyeball, apparently from an older injury.
Mac’s Mission shared photos of Pear before and after her treatment, showing a remarkable transformation:
“Pear has a new life ahead of her thanks to you all,” the rescue wrote on Facebook, thanking their supporters.
Pear looks beautiful — it’s hard to believe that it’s the same dog! Thank you to Mac’s Mission for giving this sweet dog a much-needed makeover!
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