I'm aware that this makes me sound like a spoiled child, and perhaps in some ways I am, but this seriously came up yesterday.
I hate my kitchen. It's not in bad shape, it's just not smart on space. H and I don't have the money to gut and start over (though financially we are certainly stable), and my mother has a fantastic eye for these things, so I asked her for some ideas on ways we could increase our space without breaking the bank. Her response was to offer us the money to renovate our kitchen entirely. It's not a loan, it's a gift, and it was completely unsolicited. I'm shocked.
She told me they've (she and my step-father) loaned money to two of my other siblings for home improvements and are pondering forgiving the loans as a gift to them as well. They would rather do something nice for their kids now then leave us an inheritance later on when we would likely have less need for it.
A few things bother me about this: 1. that's a biiiiig gift and its sheer size makes me uncomfortable accepting. 2. While I know full well that they can afford it, my step-father has Parkinson's and they really don't know what the future holds in terms of his care, they may need the money later on. They are aware of this, and I think this may actually be a reason why they are doing this now.
But then on the other hand, if this is something they really want to do, it is a free kitchen...
What would you do? I can't believe I'm actually asking about this.