ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Gratitude ~ When Lives Collide..

Updated on December 4, 2012

“In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes us happy.” Albert Clark


This is the true story of two women. They come from two very different worlds, but - as the chaos and unpredictability of life is wont to do - are thrown together in a time and space where their lives suddenly collide..

“My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants.” Joseph Brotherton


Zee came from adoration and wealth..

She was born into a well-known wealthy family to older parents, and was - as far as they were concerned - God's gift straight from heaven! Zee had never known what 'WANT' felt like - and certainly not 'NEED'!

She had the full run of a large, staffed, opulently appointed home. Descriptions of it's decor included adjectives such as: 'Over-the-top', 'unrefined', and 'crass' - along with 'very expensive' - of course!

Her parents didn't believe that their princess required manners OR discipline - and her life revolved around private schools, travel, shopping - and VEGAS! Yes, her impulsive, flamboyant daddy loved to gamble and - back in the day - was treated like royalty in Vegas!

He started taking his baby girl there before she was ten years old, and it wasn't uncommon for him to calm one of her oft-thrown tantrums with a quick zip to Sin City or Lake Tahoe!

Zee never held a position of employment and in her late fifties - while she was off living in Europe with her fourth husband - her mother took ill. In her absence, her parents made the decision to down-size and purchase a nice two-bedroom condo.

They proceeded to stuff it FULL of leather and granite and china and artwork.

And then they DIED...


Ell came from abuse and neglect..

She was born the second of two daughters to a mother who was not yet 20 - and a father who had never wanted children. When he found out that he was going to be a father, he first gave Ell's mama-to-be a black eye - THEN he demanded a boy!

It had not yet been discovered that the sex of the child is determined SOLELY by the man - and Ell's daddy was righteous in his bruising anger! After all, his wife dared to disobey him - TWICE!

Ell's young life was one that rarely saw a fresh flower or a kind word. Where cupboards were more often empty than not. Where no one encouraged ambition or displayed affection. Where rarely did anyone cook - OR clean..

Where the tall, skinny sister wore the same clothes as the shorter, heavier sister..

It was a life where the wetting of beds and the sucking of thumbs were but small indicators of the true level of fear, confusion - and abuse!

When Ell was just fourteen years of age, she left home armed with nothing but a talent - and her life took on an entirely new direction./

After years of working two - sometimes THREE jobs at one time - Ell found her niche in sales, and she and her children moved into a nice two-bedroom condo!

She proceeded to furnish it sparingly - but lovingly!


These two divergent life paths intersected suddenly on a beautiful summer's day at the condominium's swimming pool - where Zee was sobbing uncontrollably..

While groups of shocked and uncomfortable sun-worshippers did their best to not stare - Ell pulled up a chair beside Zee and asked if there was anything she could do to help...

Here's what was spat into her face: "YES - you can help! You can f***ing kill me right here and now!"

"I can't BELIEVE that my parents went and died and left me HERE - in this HELL HOLE! I HATE them for doing this to me and I'll NEVER forgive them."

"And - I can't do a thing about it! I'm on a f***ing allowance from a f***ing trust fund that my idiot uncle is in charge of - and - HE HATES ME!"

"I'm barely going to be able to stay in Mexico for a month this winter - then I'll be stuck freezing my ass off HERE for the rest of it! They couldn't even move to somewhere that had UNDERGROUND PARKING or an ELEVATOR"

"I'm putting diapers on my parent's mutt, (Poodles, the cowering animal on her lap), cause I'm sure as hell not running up and down two flights of stairs every time IT has to pee"...


That's all Ell heard as she rose and started to slowly meander back to her home...her warm, safe haven...her tiny piece of heaven that she couldn't be prouder of..

Her CASTLE...

True story - not one f***ing word of a lie!


“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.”

Buddha


working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)