Help Save Cherished Memories: Support Needed

Before I start, the reason my picture isn't a picture of me, but is a video of George X. Hale, my late husband, is that I couldn't figure out how to minimize any of my pictures to fit on this GoFundMe. Anyway, I thought you would all enjoy listening and watching to George sing Mean Man Blues, which I believe he wrote, instead of look at a picture of this 73-year-old woman! Enjoy!

Merry Christmas, guys! This is hard, but I really have to do it. I was going to tell you all about my last 10 years since Alice died - then Mom died - then George died - then I was diagnosed with breast cancer - heart failure - AFIB - kidney disease. Then I was homeless, but lucky enough to find a Tiny House Village - Nicklesville Northlake in Seattle, and NOW, THANKS TO NICKELSVILLE, I HAVE AN APARTMENT!

But really, haven't I whined about all that already a million times on Facebook?

So, to get to the point, after George died, I put our stuff into storage. I managed to pay for that for a few years until I couldn't any longer and my son Morgan picked up the ball and paid the bill until just a few months ago when his Long COVID got the best of him and he dropped that ball.

So now I owe $300 for the storage by this Thursday, December 19, 2024. It's such a small amount of money I find it difficult to believe that neither of us can scrounge it up, but those are the facts. We can't come up with $300.

I know we aren't the only people having a hard time this Christmas. There are hundreds - maybe thousands - of Go Fund Me's out there for more dire problems: (well, I was about to enumerate other people's problems until I realized I might send you off to their Go Fund Me's!)

So, I am just asking for a little help, but quickly. I understand that probably most of my friends are not doing a whole lot better than Morgan and I are, but for those who are doing better, maybe you wouldn't mind helping me right now. But don't worry if you can't, please, because I know at Christmas our first priorities are our families -- well, not just at Christmas. Our families are our first priorities every day of the year. That's another reason I'm asking your help. I'd like to take this burden off Morgan's shoulders.

You have probably noticed I'm asking for more than $300. I figure that after I get caught up on my storage fees, we better get over to Spokane and get my stuff out of storage. Once we do that, we won't have any more storage fees AND --

I will be able to furnish my apartment with my stuff and not buy new things. I would much rather have my things with me.

My first thought when I heard they were going to put my unit up for auction was, "Let it go!" and Morgan agreed. But that night as I lay in bed trying to sleep, I thought about what is in that room:

Some of George's writing. Some of mine. Things the kids made me as children. Our Christmas stuff from my childhood. The Hale family Christmas stuff. The china my grandmother left me. A trunk of old toys that were Morgan's when he was a kid that I had been letting Griffin pick from when he visited me in Spokane. (I had to put that in storage because when I moved to Seattle, I had nowhere to keep it.) An antique typewriter. My heart.

Anyway, I thought by asking for the extra money, we could rent a truck to bring that stuff back to Seattle.

Well, I really don't have more to say. I might, but right now I can't think of it.

Oh! And in my list of woes at the top of this request, I forgot to add that I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 71 - two years ago! The doctor said I had to have had it before I was 12 or she couldn't have and wouldn't have given me that diagnosis. Can you imagine how both relieved and shocked I was? How did I learn about my ADHD? Morgan was diagnosed with it when he was 40!

I asked Morgan what symptoms drove him to seek help. After he told me, I said to him, "That sounds like ME!" and Morgan's answer was so perfect, "I KNOW, Mom!" I guess he was telling me that without coming right out and saying, "Hey, Mom, maybe you should find out if you have ADHD since there's something weird about you."

Now I understand my life! I understand how I find myself in the many fixes I find myself. I was in treatment in Spokane and next week I start back in treatment here in Seattle. In the meantime, though, I have to get through the end of the year.

If you can or if you can't help me. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. Most especially, I hope you all have a much better year in 2025. Thank you for being my friends.