Grandmother wants nice holiday for her grandson

It's her first Christmas without her husband, after 39 years of marriage.

Her spouse died suddenly last March, of a massive heart attack. She's not only missing her mate, but this grandma has a new responsibility.

Her 9-year-old grandson came to live with her last summer.

"My son and his wife have problems," she said.

The grandmother said the boy's parents are both drug addicts who "can never get their acts together." She said it breaks her heart, but she knows she can't make them change.

Her grandson is another story.

"We've been worried about him from the day he was born," she said.

She said she and her husband tried to have the child come spend time in their home as often as the parents would allow. There were times they would leave the boy and take off in their camper, not returning for weeks.

"We knew they weren't going camping, not in the nice, happy family way," she said. "They'd go hole up somewhere and do bad stuff."

Last fall, the last time the child's parents wanted to leave the boy, the grandma said she and her husband demanded the couple give them temporary legal custody.

They did.

Her son and his wife have returned a few times to see their child, the grandma said, "but they seem just as happy to leave him here."

She's glad for that. She wants to keep the child safe. Still, she said she is always worried about money. The Social Security benefits coming into the house have to cover property taxes on her two-bedroom home, utilities, food, clothing for her grandson and extra expenses for medical purposes. There isn't enough to put anything away for any other purpose she said. She worries about having enough to feed the boy.

"Christmas is looking pretty bleak. We got out some old decorations, but I don't want to put up any lights. I keep the lights off and the heat turned way down to keep the bills down," she said.

Her grandson is going for counseling. They boy is having a tough time dealing with his parents' absence, she said.

"He took his grandpa's death pretty hard. He still is. We both are. I just want to make things a little special for him," she said.

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