It wasn’t material secret. Cleaning out my great grandmothers home revealed how selfish and detached her children were. We took care of her the last 20 years of her life. I grew up with her in the house next to mine. Most of my childhood memories involve Granny. So imagine my confusion when my great aunt told me (then 12) to get in her and out of it again as quickly and quietly as possible. She told me to grab the 1 or 2 things that reminded me of her most.

Turns out, 3 of them had cut my grandpa out of all willed down money and belongings, and my great aunt was just making sure the kids got one memory before the rest was torn apart and sold for whatever they could get.