Hi Everyone,
I might as well admit it; I am semi-obsessed with watching Hoarders. I say semi-obsessed because I don’t watch every episode. But I do watch most. It is the best way to clean and organize any environment. Trust me!
I am not cleaning or organizing now. I would but I just did my nails, but I am still watching, (and typing with wet nails) right now. But something in this episode really bugged me. That is why I am blogging.
In this episode, the mother is a hoarder and her two young sons are being taken away from her and put into Child Protective Services. The mother has about 24 hours to clean her house and bring it up to code or her sons will most likely get separated as they go into foster care. That is going to be a HUGE feat.
Not only are there holes in the walls, clutter everywhere, and mice, (even some of them have lost the will to live) but there is limited electrical services. The family has to use extension cords and flashlights to have light in certain areas of the home like the bathroom.
Now the family cannot have any electrical work done because if an electrician went in, they would have to report the condition of the home. And the smell is overpowering. Even if they could afford and electrician, which they can’t, the electrician wouldn’t be able to stay long enough to do the work. There was no where to walk and that smell.
So how did the mother allow the house to gradually lapse into that condition? Her first husband died. After she married her second husband, she lost a child, and then that husband died. All of these deaths were natural causes by the way. And it was only natural that the mother would feel sad. Unfortunately, with that many deaths, one sadness, built on the other and then built on the other to the point of the mother becoming depressed. Like severely depressed.
A woman from the children’s school, who is the one who was sent to review the home, kept saying that she felt sorry for the children. That is what bugged me hence this rant. I feel sorry for the children too, but I also feel sorry for mother. She has literally buried her feelings in the clutter of her home. To me she has given up so many times that she, like the mice, gave up on living altogether. This is a common thread in Hoarders. I understand that. We all give up at some point in our lives. It’s human.
If whatever I am working on is overwhelming, I give up and do something else. Sometimes I think about whatever has stumped or pissed me off while I do something else, sometimes I don’t. But I still have to do whatever. I may not do it that day but I get it done. That is me, and maybe that is you too. But everyone is different. Not all of us bounce back as quickly as we or others would like.
There must have been someone in the mother’s life who at least had an inkling that the she needed help. Where were they?!?!? She was married twice, has two boys, so she had a life before her life fell apart! Did everyone ditch her? Or better yet, did she ditch them because they gave her a few good reasons to?
I don’t know.
I am not her. I only know the part of her story that she decided to reveal on the show and after the post production editing. There has to be more. There is always more.
If you know someone who looks like they could use a smile, smile. If you can muster, “Good morning,” or whatever just say it. We never know what is going on in someone else’s life. A lot of people simply want to be acknowledged.
Some people may need a hand up but may be too afraid to ask. If you can find it in yourself to offer them some help with whatever they are struggling with offer your help. It may be a small gesture on your part, yet it can have a profound effect on their lives. Just don’t go and attach any strings. Karma is a bitch!
I posted two related blogs on this topic, The first is titled, Let’s Talk–Mental Health. Here is the link if you are interested, http://arebelsrant.com/lets-talk-mental-health/ The second is called, When’s the Last Time You Saw Her? here is the link for that blog, http://arebelsrant.com/whens-the-last-time-you-saw-her/
Thank you for reading, A. Rebel’s Rant! ;D
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