Thieves & Squatters

I'd hoped in the new year I'd get back to writing more posts to this blog; sadly, so far, that hasn't been the case.

Perhaps I was expecting too much, considering that my family has been dealing with a thief/squatter for awhile now, leaving little time, or energy, to write. Though writing won't help me to escape from the destruction the thief has caused, maybe it will help me to deal with the ongoing issue at hand.

 A while back a thief snuck silently into my parents' home and started taking things.  At first it was sporadic, just here and there, once in a while.  It was just random enough that my parents, as well as my son and myself, questioned whether it was really happening or not.

Then things began missing more and more. Nothing of great monetary value, but things that were sentimental and made of family memories.

Though the theft has affected both my parents, with each of them suffering losses, the thief has singled out my mom for the worst of the attacks.

This thief has no mercy, especially with my mom. The things this thief has done, and continues to do, stresses my mom greatly; which in turn makes the thief steal more and more often. My mom's stress transfers to the rest of us, and the whole situation is a continuing cycle.

The thief my family is dealing with is quite brazen, and has declared squatter's rights in my parents' home, with no intention of leaving. If that's not bad enough, this thief refuses to let them leave their house alone.  Even if my son, or I am taking them somewhere, the thief ALWAYS has to go with us. This thief/squatter is holding my parents hostage in their own home, as well as anywhere they go.

Though we live next door to my parents, the only time my son and I don't deal directly with the thief is when we're at work. Sometimes we try having time away from home for other reasons.  Even then though, we're uneasy leaving my parents to deal with this thief/squatter alone.  Most of the times we've tried, the thief has stirred up trouble, causing more and more stress.  As bold as this thief/squatter has become, my son and I have found it easier if one of us can be home in case my parents need us.  So far this arrangement has appeased the thief/squatter; but not always.  Sometimes nothing works and we just have to ride out whatever comes our way, until the thief/squatter decides to give us a break.

By now you've probably wondered why my parents, or my son, or I haven't called the police to have this thief/squatter taken care of once and for all; we obviously have plenty of evidence to get a conviction in court, right?  Heck we even know the thief/squatter's name, that should make things even simpler, right?  If only it was that easy.

 No one in our family has actually seen this thief/squatter that's been holding my parents hostage.  There's no physical being that we can have arrested to end all the chaos we're going through.  There's no simple ending to the situation before us.  All we can do is muddle through the best we can, looking towards those who have the knowledge to help us do so.  Why?  Because the thief/squatter that's taken over my parents' home, preying on both of them, but mainly my mom, is named Alzheimer's Disease.