Letters to “Lacey” Part 13: The Great Iris Folding Escapade!

If you are new to this blog, you may want to read the posts “In a Nutshell” or go to July 2012 and read “Sending out a Letter.” My daughter Emma Katherine Roey lied about a friend being raped and attempting suicide, claimed to have been molested by a priest, and then, just as her attorneys were about to file a law suit, Emma accused her mother (me) of physically abusing her and later of poisoning her with DDT. Emma claimed to have a toxicology report to confirm that her mother (me, again!) poisoned her, but would never turn over this report to my attorney. If you read through the blog, you will find many other examples of Emma’s lying. At one point, she even complained about the way her dad touched her and that he called her a “bitch” and a “slut” everyday. (I refused to listen to her when she talked about her dad like that.) As long as Emma continues with the lies, I will tell her story. Love and thanks to all of you who read and have written to me. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at: losingemma@gmail.com Please continue to share the blog with others.

Emma watches tv with one of our dogs and a foster dog.    Emma Kate Roey, Emma Roey, Emma Katherine Roey

Emma watches tv with one of our dogs and a foster dog. Emma Kate Roey, Emma Roey, Emma Katherine Roey

May 31, 2009 Four days after the last letter, Emma starts another. She tells “Lacey” that she didn’t have time to write yesterday. She volunteered at PetsMart and then went to church. She says she ran into C. (the neighbor girl Emma accused of drug use, being promiscuous, and of having an abortion and possibly a 2nd pregnancy) and C. really ticked Emma off. Emma knew they were having a party at K’s house (a couple of houses down from our home one Buck Trail in Hoschton) and there was no way Emma was going because she was sure that illegal things were going on, and she didn’t want to hear them and deal with the pressure and backstabbing. Emma says she knows she could resist temptation if she wanted to, but she hates, but is no supposed to because that’s not Christian. She does not like those girls at all, so it’s not worth bothering. C. wanted to know why Emma couldn’t come to the party, so Emma said she was going to do some things with our church to get ready for an event tomorrow, and C. said, “Oh, I’m sorry.” In a really snobby tone. Emma says she told C. off and that she is so tired of C. making fun of her religion and of “Jesus Freaks.” One of their favorite saying sis “I’m ok with Jesus, I just hate his fan club.” That totally gets Emma because her faith is a huge part of her life, and the girls are rubbing their disapproval in her face. That is totally inappropriate, Emma complains! Emma says this is just one of the many things that proves C. is not the person she thinks she is. Emma says that C. claims to be nonjudgmental. Emma says she honestly just wishes she’d never met C. in the first place and that for some weird reason, C. thinks she is Emma’s best friend. This is not true because Emma doesn’t trust her and never will!

Emma goes on to talk about going to the church to help set up for the Spaghetti Lunch, and then talks about church the next day and then the Spaghetti lunch that followed. Emma was annoyed because a lot of people did not attend the lunch and because they were shorthanded. Emma goes on to say she was talking to Evan (one of the members of the youth group) about pianos and how Evan told her his piano was from the 1880s and was a family heirloom. Emma said she then asked me( her mother) how old our piano was and said that I told her I bought it at a yard sale and complains that I keep saying that when she gets better we would get a new one—“ya, like when I’m in Florida in college….” She complains that there is no rich history to our piano and about the piano being a piece of junk.

(Ok, I have not checked into the story of Evan’s “heirloom” piano. What is it with Emma and “heirlooms?” I sort of doubt this story is true from what I know of Evan’s family, BUT our piano did not come from yard sale. It was an old piano given to me by a friend who no longer wanted it. Yes, it was a piece of junk, and yes it was just fine for Emma to learn on. Emma started piano in kindergarten, but after a few years of lessons, it was such a battle to get her to practice, so we quit. I think it was the summer before she started high school that she started again. Emma was never very serious about piano. She enjoyed the attention she got when she could play church hymms, songs from Phamtom of the Opera and Les Miserables, but she was never a serious music student. It was never my desire to turn her into a musician, but just to maybe give her a little appreciation for music. Had she been serious about it, Phill and I would have definitely encouraged her, but she really liked to play around and have fun, and that was fine too. I’ve been around enough to know that you can’t push kids in to music. I’d seen what Sandra Brooks McCravy went through with her boys. Her parents were very generous to pay for expensive piano lessons, and Derek was very serious about piano, but Johnathan wasn’t. Johnathan played because he was forced to, and eventually he quit and took guitar lessons. Derek played beautiful classical piano and even won a couple hundred dollars  in a small scholarship competition. )

Emma complains about cleaning up after the spaghetti lunch that she and one of the younger girls were taking down decorations while some of the other kids (Rob, Nick, Jordan Ari) sat around talking and how she had to go over and tell them that they needed to help. Emma said it’s like she doesn’t want to be seen as controlling…..but the least they can do is help, and how her feet were killing her too, but she did what needed to be done anyway! Emma tells “Lacey” that she was also depressed that Jordan had a party and Ari and Rob were there, but she was not invited, and her mom immediately says, “Did you feel left out?” Emma says it made her realize that in all the times they’ve been friends, “upwards of a decade”, Jordan has never once invited Emma anywhere with her. Emma has had her over and done things with her, but she has never reciprocated. Emma considers Jordan a friend, but does not think Jordan thinks the same about her. In fact, she doesn’t. Emma knows and has known this for a wile, but this was just a blatant slap in the face to tell her this is the way things are and she needs to accept them. So that is her depression in a nutshell.

(Well, I don’t remember what I said, but I know I would have not said, “Do you feel left out?” upon finding my daughter was not invited to a party. I don’t practice that feely-mealy kind of speech. I probably said, “I’m sorry.” I really don’t remember at this point, although I do remember Emma telling me that Jordan had a party and she was not invited. Also, at that point, I think we’d known Jordan’s family for about 5 or so years, not upwards of a decade. I don’t remember exactly, but I think we joined the church when Emma was in 2nd grade. Jordan and her family came some time after we did and then left the church for a couple of years and then returned.)

June 2, 2009

Emma talks about us going to see the movie up with some passes our neighbors gave us for Christmas, and says it is a big deal for us because we only go to a movie maybe once a year, and the only reason we were going was because the were going to expire.

(I don’t recall if the passes were going to expire or not. I’ve received several movie passes as gifts, and I’ve never had any that had expiration dates on them, so this could be a fabrication, but it’s true that we didn’t go to movies very often. We preferred to wait until movies came out on video and we watched them at home.)

Emma tells “Lacey” about delivering flyer in the neighborhood for her pet sitting service.

(Emma had a homeschool assignment to make a flyer, so I suggested pet sitting since that was something she could do to earn some money. She did a great job and earned over $300 just before she went on the mission trip with Eternal Hope of Haiti.)

Emma says that the song, “After the World” by Disciple is stuck in her head right now…

You break the glass

Try to hide your face Recorded lines

That just will not erase

And buried in Your loss of innocence

You wonder if You’ll find it again

Emma says she doen’t even have a particular meaning or connection to this one, it just keeps playing through her head with no signs of impending relief. Oh well, it’s not nearly as bad as some of the stuff Jordan’s had stuck in her head….it’s like a reflex, comparing herself to Jordan. She can’t help it. So many memories….ok, trying not to get depressed…totally not working….*sigh*. Emma says she doesn’t know where she would be without “Lacey”. Jordan is gone and kayla is in Toccoa or France (and totally inaccessible regardless). Facebook is normally an encouragement, but she’s looking at her profile and “Emma has 42 friends”, oh ya right. Emma talks about receiving a friend request from a boy she knew when she attended George Walton Academy in Monroe, Ga. She remembers how in kindergarten, he was that boy Ms. McPheeters could never wake up from rest time. Emma talks about her fish Zorro and says she worries that her parents might let him starve while she is gone. She says everyone would think she was crazy or she’d beg to bring him on the mission trip with the youth group, but she doubts the youth group leader would go for that. Poor Fishie.

(Phill and I always took pretty good care of our pets, so I think this “Poor Fishie” is just idle chatter. Emma needed something to say. I can’t imagine Emma actually believed we would not take care of her fish while she was gone. As any parent knows, when a child has a pet, it’s the parents who are the ones to care for it.) ############################################################################################################################################################ Now for one of my favorite parts:

The iris folding card Emma and I made.  Apparently, I did pretty good for a crippled old arthritic mother!  Emma Roey, Emma Kate Roey, Emma Katherine Roey

The iris folding cards Emma and I made. Apparently, I did pretty good for a crippled old arthritic mother! Emma Roey, Emma Kate Roey, Emma Katherine Roey

irisfold2 Emma talks about teaching her mom iris folding like she used on the card she’d recently sent to “Lacey”. Emma says she loves her mom, but it is sooooo hard to teach her because she has arthritis in her hands and is sooo slow. It’s like she could do this ten times faster and not waste half the material she does, but it’s really important for her to do it herself. And on top of that, she gets angry when Emma tries to keep her from making mistakes. She wants to do it her way, but she will get really frustrated when hers don’t turn out as nicely as Emma’s do because she refuses to take Emma’s advice , which she gives in a very respectful tone that still get labeled “smart-a**”). It gets Emma so frustrated because it’s not even fun for her anymore, and what’s worse is when her mother wants to help with Emma’s projects, but she invariabley ruins them!! So Emma tries to work on things when she’s not home.

(I have to admit, when I first read this story about the iris folding, I was very hurt. Here it is a few years down the road and it’s no longer painful, but it’s funny in a pathetic sort of way. An imaginary twist of events from a sick mind. A few years before, I’d taken Emma to Michael’s on a Saturday for one of their $2 kid’s projects. They were doing Iris folding cards, and Emma made one. I think it was a Thanksgiving turkey if I remember correctly. She really enjoyed it, so later on we got her supplies and she started making these cards. She really enjoyed it and we bought more and more supplies for her. She had a ton of card making supplies. For those of you who may not know what Iris Folding is, it is simply folding strips of paper and laying them down, overlapping. It is quite simple to do. I always enjoyed seeing what Emma made, and said one day I’d like to try it with her. Emma was anxious to teach me, so when my niece was expecting her 2nd baby, and we found out it was a boy, we decided to sit down and make some cards. Emma wanted to make a baby boy card, and I just wanted to give it a try. I’d taught Emma so many things over the years, especially with my beadwork, she seemed to really enjoy teaching me her hobby. We had a lovely afternoon sitting, chatting, and working on our cards. It is still a sweet memory of some mother-daughter time. Funny how my memories of that day differ so widely from Emma’s, but then I’m the one Emma accuses of “blocking things out.” Uh, ok. I also find it pathetic that Emma that Emma claims I wanted to help her with her projects. Of course, since we homeschooled, I had to be in charge of school, but once we were done with that, Emma was on her own with her little arts and crafts. If she asked me for help, I certainly would, but as a homeschooling mom who spent at least 40 hours a week on school and then add to that cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, yardwork, church activities, my part time job, taking care of the dogs, volunteering with the rescue…… I certainly wasn’t interested in taking over Emma’s little projects. It sure makes a good story though, doesn’t it. St. Emma has the patience of Job taking the time to teach her poor crippled mother how to fold paper! Oh, and did I mention I do not have arthritis in my hands? Funny how Emma doesn’t let the little details get in the way of her stories. In full disclosure, I do have osteoarthritis in on shoulder due to a repetitive motion injury, but other than that, no arthritis anywhere.) ##################################################################################################################################################################################################################### ################################################################################################################################################################################################################################### Emma tells “Lacey” about getting her HepA shot for going to Haiti, and then complains about seeing a little boy down the street who noticed her bandaid and asked what color lollipop she got for her shot. Emma says she feels so ripped off for getting painful foreign toxins injected into her body and she doesn’t even get a piece of candy! Sooo not fair! Emma signs off saying this letter is kind of short.

And just a personal note for Emma: I hope you and Daddy have a wonderful time at SEFF! Looks like the rain should clear up enough for the event! In telling the story about the iris folding, I got to thinking ab out when we were homeschooling and how I would keep some beadwork on the porch to work on because I couldn’t leave you alone to do your schoolwork. You sat out there and read books if I left the room. Remember when you cut the little purple amulet bag I was making? You denied and denied it, but I knew you did it. It was a perfect little scissor cut, and you and I were the only ones home. You were mad a me over something so you destroyed my project. Funny how you accused ME of taking over YOUR projects! Also, I was thinking about the time our friends who were down at the Holland School came by to visit, and one of them bought A $30 bead from me and I tucked the money under my desk blotter like it always did with money, checks, or important papers. Then the money disappeared, and you denied taking it. I know you did it Emma. I just didn’t know what to do when you denied, denied, denied, so I let it go. Love you sweetie, have a good time in Americus!

Letters to “Lacey” Part 12

If you are new to this blog, you may want to read the posts “In a Nutshell” or go to July 2012 and read “Sending out a Letter.” My daughter Emma Katherine Roey lied about a friend being raped and attempting suicide, claimed to have been molested by a priest, and then, just as her attorneys were about to file a law suit, Emma accused her mother (me) of physically abusing her and later of poisoning her with DDT. Emma claimed to have a toxicology report to confirm that her mother (me, again!) poisoned her, but would never turn over this report to my attorney. If you read through the blog, you will find many other examples of Emma’s lying. At one point, she even complained about the way her dad touched her and that he called her a “bitch” and a “slut” everyday. (I refused to listen to her when she talked about her dad like that.) As long as Emma continues with the lies, I will tell her story. Love and thanks to all of you who read and have written to me. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at: losingemma@gmail.com Please continue to share the blog with others.

While Phill did 95% of the work, Emma did choose the colors she wanted for her room

While Phill did 95% of the work, Emma did choose the colors she wanted for her room

After Emma's room was painted, Phill put together the bed/desk that Emma had chosen from Ikea.  Emma Roey . Emma Katherine Roey.  Emma Kate Roey.

After Emma’s room was painted, Phill put together the bed/desk that Emma had chosen from Ikea. Emma Roey . Emma Katherine Roey. Emma Kate Roey.


This picture of Rob, one of the kids from Emma's youth group, shows the curtains Emma chose for her room.  Emma Roey,  Emma Kate Roey, Emma Katherine Roey

This picture of Rob, one of the kids from Emma’s youth group, shows the curtains Emma chose for her room. Emma Roey, Emma Kate Roey, Emma Katherine Roey


May 20, 2009

(Three days later Emma starts another letter. The first paragraph is about how she finished The Secret Lives of Bees and she repeats a discussion we had at book club.)

Emma states that “Lacey” implied that she was bored without school to keep her occupied, so Emma made a list of suggestions with the one that trumps the rest, according to Emma, is that she could babysit, T., the little girl Emma babysat for. Emma says to just say the word, and Emma will send her there for the summer. Her mom would be THRILLED for “Lacey” to babysit as long as she could survive and Emma promises that she would never be bored.

Emma goes on to say she compiled a list of more viable suggestions: “Lacey” can volunteer to cook every meal for her family. She can teach herself how to knit and then make Emma a sweater. She can memorize the Bible. (The whole thing, not just parts of it.) She can illustrate her favorite verses. She can try to communicate telepathically with an animal, family member, or inanimate object. She can take lots of pictures. She can write letters, poems, and stories. She can cut up paper into little pieces. (Emma says this can amuse some of her little friends for hours.) She can ask Emma to forward Jordan’s texts to her and see if she can translate them into English. (They are even more challenging than those monster Sudoku puzzles that Emma tried and gave up after 5 minutes.) There’s another one, “Lacey” can try Sodoku. She can take things apart and try to put them back together. (Starting with the computer is not recommended because her “rents” will not be happy if she fails at the putting-it-back-together part.) Try to draw something. (Emma states she does not have the attention span and totally lacks skill for art.) “Lacey” can call Emma’s friend Erika, and let her talk to “Lacey.” She can take one shoe (not a pair) out of someone’s closet once a day every day and see how long it takes them to figure out something’s going on. She can put food colors in leftovers (green works well). She can change the background on the family computer. She can sew sequins around the neckline of a plain shirt which Emma says she does have the patience for, and besides it looks pretty! Go to any store and get a shopping cart full of stuff and try to unload it into other people’s carts without them noticing. Color code a family member’s closet. Get a bendy pencil. Label everything “Lacey” can think of including food, furniture, and people. Let little kids color her feet and hands in washable markers……………

(And yes, Emma definitely knows about the food coloring! Once, after I cooked some squash, Emma put green food coloring in the leftovers so that I would think it went bad and she wouldn’t have to eat it again! Even though I knew I’d made the squash the day or two before, I didn’t feel comfortable eating it. I kept asking Emma if she put food coloring in it and she denied, denied, denied, so she won that one, and I threw it away. It was some time later that Emma did admit she put food coloring in the squash.)

Emma says mentioning the washable markers reminds her of something she hasn’t told “Lacey” about. She was helping with VBS and Jordan’s mom told her to help her with the tie-dye project, and it did not occur to Emma to wear gloves, so her hands were bright red, blue, and yellow for weeks before they even began to fade. It had to be a full three months before the stains were completely gone.

(This is another example of a little exaggeration, or maybe a lot. Emma came home with a little dye on her hands, just splotches. It washed out after some hand washing and a few showers, so her hands were NOT brightly colored for weeks.)

Emma tells Lacey about her grandmother (Harriett Roey, Phill’s mom) sending her a newspaper clipping about people dying trying to escape from Haiti, and mentions how her grandmother thought she would support Emma’s endeavor of going on a mission trip by sending her depressing news stories.
Emma has just gotten her passport and travel itinerary and tells Lacey she will be leaving with Eternal Hope of Haiti at 3am on Wed. June 17th, fly to Ft. Lauderdale, and then on to Port-au-Prince where the group will take a puddle-jumper to the mission site. Emma says it is really hitting home that she is going to a third world country with 6 people, 5 of whom she has never met, traveling internationally and by herself for the first time. She needs some serious prayers!

(Odd that Emma claims to only know 5 of 6 people, as both the Nurse Practitioners, and the husband of the director of Eternal Hope went on the trip. One of these ladies was the neighbor that Emma later claimed was drunk when she went over to get instructions on pet sitting for her.)

Emma talks about doing some closet cleaning, and then about getting her new swim suit that she loves, stating that it is modest as far as swimsuits go. (See picture in earlier post.)

Emma asks “Lacey” what she is doing about school the next year. She knew “Lacey” wasn’t returning to Georgia Virtual School (GAVS), and she thought she might be going to public school, and if she is, how does she feel about it? Emma says he prays that it won’t be the H*** for “Lacey” that it was for Emma, if she must endure it at all. Emma tells “Lacey” not to ride the bus if at all possible and to let her know if she is going because she has a lot more survival tips she can give “Lacey.” (No joke. Emma thinks there should be a transition course.)

Emma says she may be staying in GAVS the next year, but we aren’t sure. She is not sure how she feels. Math online is difficult, but she will get through it. She sort of would like to try a hybrid school like Heritage Academy, and she applied there last year, but we were turned down because the branch where we lived was very Baptist. She says she understands they are not all like that, but this one was, and she was pretty upset at the time.
(Our friend Sandi’s sons, Derek McCravy and Johnathan McCravy both went to a Heritage Academy.)

May 21, 2009

Emma starts out complaining, “Ugh…” that the youth group is doing a Spaghetti Lunch on Pentecost Sunday, May 31st to raise money for their mission trip. It is so much work to coordinate that she just feels drained. She was at it all day with e-mail updates, making phone calls, answering questions, etc. The junior youth group was supposedly in charge of planning, but it is really Emma, the deacon, and Ms. Karen (youth group leader) who were doing the important stuff. Emma was finding acolyte subs and coordinating music. Finding acolyte subs entails calling the L. family (remember them?) since their daughter is the only non-youth group acolyte. Emma didn’t get them, but left a message and really hopes they just don’t call back so she can just pull and adult for the senior acolyte and that will be that.

(So, now who’s the control freak? Emma along with the deacon and the youth group leaders are the only ones working on the trip? And what is this about coordinating music? Nooooooo, that was not something Emma did. Emma played the piano for services when the organist was out. She played what she was told to, and had nothing to do with coordinating music.)

Emma says she called Evan and Nick because they are the only other musically inclined members. Nick was unsure about contributing, and if he won’t play, that is more work for the rest of them, but Evan’s mom is an orchestra conductor, so he wants to get a grou together to play jazz. So far, it looks like three of them will play; Emma, Evan, and Evan’s friend whose name she can’t remember. Evan plays violat and his friend plays the violin, and “Lacey” knows that Emma plays piano. Emma is a bit nervous because she has never played in a group before. Being homeschooled, and an only child, Emma says she has not had much in the way of opportunity. There are a few homeschool marching bands, bt for some reason, they don’t want a pianist. Emma wonders why. Anyway, after Nick’s response, Emma felt encouraged to see some enthusiasm.

Emma says she is worried about the deacon fussing at her for doing too much at her own discretion. The junior youth group (as she said) should be in charge of all aspects of planning, but they simply aren’t getting it done. Despite the fact that it would teach them a lesson, Emma didn’t think it was right to keep discussing things like they were final while keeping everyone else out of the loop. Emma knows from doing the fashion show how hard it is to work up a score on short notice, so even though it is not her job, she went ahead and started coordinating the music. It’s like, she doesn’t want to and she shouldn’t have to, but with things the way they are with no immediate sign of possible change, she thought it was better to ask forgiveness than permission. If you’ve volunteered someone for something, it’s only common courtesy to let them know. Not that Emma would ever remind the deacon of that, but it’s true.

(Ok, I’m understanding why, when my attorney read these letters he said Emma was all about control. And what is this about “work up a score?” Excuse me? Emma played the only songs she knew well and that was songs from Les Miserables and from Phantom of the Opera. “Work up a Score?” That’s pretty funny? It sounds like she was writing a musical. It was a little embarrassing that Emma played the same songs for both the Mother’s Day brunch and the Spaghetti Lunch because it looked like Emma didn’t know anything else, but no one seemed to mind hearing the same music over again.)

Next, Emma starts talking about how we are going to IKEA the following day to get some bookshelves and a desk for her room. Apparently they were having a really good sale, so sayeth her dad. (Phill was a BIG IKEA fan.) Emma says she desperately needs storage space, so she is excited about going to IKEA, and she will try to send “Lacey” a picture when her shelves are up.

Next Emma talks about Twilla (Of Eternal Hope of Haiti) and her daughter Hope stopping by because Hope wanted Emma to take care of their dog. Twilla had more information about Emma’s trip and Emma will be rooming with Leah, a Korean medical student from Emory. Emma also says that she will need about $70 in ones on her at all times.

May 27, 2009

Emma complains that she hasn’t had much time to write due to home renovations. She states we were working a bit on her room. She figures by the time she moves out, she’ll have it the way she wants and says “no pessimism there or anything.” Emma talks about going to IKEA and how huge lines and misdirection made the trip a couple of hours longer than it should have been.
(Ummmmmmmm, not exactly. We re-did Emma’s room and she had complete control over what she wanted from paint down to furniture. We spent a lot of time looking at IKEA while Emma decided on a bed, and we at lunch at the restaurant. There was one time there were lines at the cashiers, but they moved quickly, so the whole “huge lines and misdirection” was a gross exaggeration.)

Emma talks about church and about going to a cookout for Memorial Day at the home of one of Emma’s “Aunts” from the rescue.

Emma talks about the youth group and about calling, Ari, a youth group member. Emma states that she and Ari were both bored so they talked for almost an hours. Emma claims Ari has never been hostile, but they just have differences about politics, morals, and many other things. Emma says they avoided conflict though, and even though Emma thinks Ari is a closet psycho Marist, she likes her on a personal level. BTW, says emma, if you haven’t done much study of Marxism, the basic philosophy is “From each according to their ability, to each according to their need.” Emma says extreme political philosophies are an area of interest to her, and complains that most people use the terms Communism, Socialism, Marxism, and Fascism interchangeably and that is one of her pet peeves. She tells “Lacey” the next time she hears someone use one of those terms to ask them what it means and 90% of the time, they won’t be able to tell you.

Emma asks “Lacey” if she has heard So Long Self by Mercy Me. Emma says it is a breakup sont with yourself:

So long, self
Well it’s been fun but I have found somebody else
So long, self
There’s just no room for two
So you are gonna have to move
So long, self
Don’t take this wrong but you were wrong for me, farewell
Oh well, goodbye, don’t cry
So long, self

Emma says she thought the song was kind of silly when she first heard it, but the more she thinks about it, the deeper it seems.
Emma talks about going to book club the night before and how a couple of people were asking advice on family problems. Emma says she’s glad she’s not the only one with a majorly dysfunctional family.

Emma talks about the Deacon, at book club, speaking about the Drama triangle and the three parts of villain, victim, and rescuer. She says to get out of the triangle, you have to refuse to play any of those rolls, and admittedly, the toughest part to get out of is the victim.
(Kind of ironic, isn’t it? Emma has a hard time not playing the victim? Truer words have not been spoken!)

Emma goes on to talk about someone else mentioning being a victim vs. being a volunteer. Basically being a volunteer is making a martyr of yourself. (Hmmmmmmm. Funny, how the woman who mentioned’ victim vs volunteer” at book club later told me that that Emma had made herself into a volunteer.)
Emma tells “Lacey” that her Beta fish, Zorro, says hi and that she will give “Lacey” a detailed account of the Spaghetti Lunch soon.