It's A Boy

Thursday January 9, 1992

Chris called last night to tell us the tests say the baby is fine and is a boy. She and I are disappointed but Ric is pleased. She's still sick and throwing up after 3-1/2 months.

I awake at 5 a.m. sick and vomiting. I guess it's from kemo yesterday. I throw up every 45 minutes until 11 a.m. I have to hurry and get cleaned up for the 1:00 appointment we have for our living trust.

Mr. Robert Otis arrives in a new black Rolls Royce. He is very nice. He explains it all to us and we tell him what we want. It's clear to me. I want Frank to enjoy whatever I leave but what's left will go to Chris and Gary and same goes for visa versa.

Frank wakes me in the night. He thinks I'm leaving everything to the kids and is upset. We talk it out. He goes to sleep. I lay awake for 2 hours.

Early genetic testing was done on the fetus because of my age. I would be 39 years old when the baby came. I was disappointed not to be having a girl this time. My first husband John got the boy he wanted, and now my second husband Ric was getting the boy he wanted. I wanted a daughter so I could have a relationship like I did with Mom with my own daughter. I tried one more time in 1995 to have a daughter. By then I was 42 years old and it was my last shot. My third son was born May 2, 1995. I never did get a daughter. My husband worries so much about his boys, he always says it's a good thing he didn't have any girls, as that would be so much more worrisome.

As I type this, it's ironic that Mom and I are both puking. Maybe part of the reason I was so sick was anxiety over Mom's cancer and her chemotherapy. Obviously, Mom is hanging in there in order to meet her next grandchild. 6 months to go until baby Derek is to be born.

So Attorney Robert Otis drives up in his new Rolls Royce! I would have run quickly the other direction. I don't know how much he charged Mom and Frank for preparing the living trust, but after Mom passed away, he charged my brother and I several thousand dollars to "execute" it. Not only that, but he took his sweet time. With my share of the inheritance I bought a condo at Lake Tahoe as an investment. It did not close escrow until more than a year after her death. You would think a year would be plenty of time for this rich lawyer to process the paperwork. No, it took him more than 18 months! Every time I spoke with him on the phone, he was an arrogant ass who acted like he couldn't give me the time of day. He probably charged me $100 for every 5 minute phone call! He had to pay for that brand new Rolls Royce!

I'm not sure what Mom means when she says that she wants Frank to enjoy everything she leaves and Gary and I would get whatever is left over. No wonder Frank was confused. As it turned out, Frank got their house in Simi Valley, and he was the executor of the trust which managed Mom's 3 rental houses after she died. Within a few months, Frank stepped down as executor and gave the 3 houses to Gary and I. Why should he have all the hassle of managing 3 rental houses, when they would be going to Gary and I eventually anyway? After hearing how much work he did on the Lemona house, I feel bad that he did not enjoy the fruits of his labor. Managing real estate is alot of work and alot of headaches. Ric and I manage 9 of our own and 6 for my mother-in-law. It can be extremely stressful and hard on our relationship. 5 years ago, at least we had some equity to look forward to cashing in, but after the real estate bubble burst, we don't even have that now. Just lots of bills and lots of headaches.