By Vicki Scott
It was a normal day as I got my morning water intake and checked my e-mail, Facebook, and bank apps.
Then it happened.
One bank app showed that my mother’s bank account was overdrawn. I was shocked and extremely perplexed. I’ve been handling my mother’s estate for more three years and have been very careful.
My mother was good at getting what she wanted, even with dementia. She would call the bank regularly and find out how much she had in her account at any given time. After she passed away on September 7, 2020, I found an active credit from a bank she apparently applied for. It was at first a shock, but after I thought about it, I was not surprised.
To protect my mother, called the bank and supplied all the required information needed to keep my mother from accessing her account due to complications caused by her dementia. She would somehow work around it and find out anyway. Because of this, I checked her account several times a day and made sure there was a limited amount of money in her account. To do this, I would transfer funds into another account on my app that did not have her name on it. There were a few times when my mother saw that she might have enough money to buy a car, so she would call around to try to find a ride to a car dealership.
It has been nine months since my mom’s passing, and I still transfer funds out of that account. This is where it gets embarrassing. The check that was going to bounce was the tithe to our church.
When I wrote this check the week before, I forgot to sign it. The next Wednesday night, I signed the check along with my apologies.
Cove Creek seems to be a very understanding church. My checks must have put me on the map there. My first mistake was when I wrote their check out to Verizon, then I messed up on writing out the amount in cursive.
I cried, thinking that the church financial committee must think I was three shades of stupid. On the check made out to Verizon, however, this sweet lady let me know otherwise. She is so precious.
When the bank opened, I was one of the first in the door. The lady who helped me knew the whole situation, but I tried to explain it to her anyway. She was able to send the check through and stop it from bouncing. I was still out the $36 overdraft fee, but the church would not see yet another mishap on my part.
While at the bank, it was discovered that my driver’s license had expired. Bank overdraft, license expiration, what next? Oh, I was supposed to meet Pat Hill at George Wallace Senior Center in Glencoe to make plans for an opening celebration. I texted her that I would be late, but I had no idea how late I would be.
The courthouse was close, so I thought I would run in and renew my license before I forgot. My husband Alan recommended that I get a star on my license. There was no waiting at the courthouse. When I asked the lady for a star however, she said I could not get it at that location. She said she could renew my license for a $36.25 fee and then go to the state office and pay another $36.25 to get the star. Or, I could just go to the state office and get both for $36.25.
I chose to go to the state office.
My husband drove us to Glencoe, where I met Pat with apologies and explanations of all the discoveries and activities of the day. After leaving, we went to get my license renewed with a star.
After signing in, we sat in our car and waited to be called. We watched every person coming out and in. A few hours later, I went in to sit in the waiting room. One man was taking care of everything.
Before I went in the office, however, I met two ladies that had come there three times trying to get the appropriate paperwork for their stars. One of the ladies told me it was not needed until 2023 but they wanted to get it done and were excited to have it all together this time. They explained how one man was doing everything and asked us to be patient with him.
It was not hard to be patient. I praise God that those ladies informed me ahead of time, but this man did not show any irritation about being there by himself. I watched him stop and answer the phone several times with the same friendly tone. He had such a good attitude, and I appreciated the time he spent helping me get my act together.
This experience let me know a couple of things – the day goes much better with a good attitude and enough money in the checking account to pay the tithes to the church!
Stay safe. I look forward to seeing everyone soon!
Contact Vicki Scott at lily200383@yahoo.com.