Helping the Halls Get Home
Donation protected
Hi! I'm Amy. As anyone who knows me personally is already aware, my boys and I recently moved to Phoenix, Arizona, from Athens, Georgia, following the abrupt breakup of my marriage. My husband fell in love with another woman and was already completely committed to his decision to leave me for her before I knew our marriage was in any danger whatsoever. In his words: "I wasn't searching to fall in love with someone else. It happened to happen. I could have either ignored it or not. I chose not to ignore the way I was feeling. I'm sorry that you are hurting. I really am." I believe him that he is sorry (I really do), but the choice he made to privilege his feelings for another woman over his commitment to our family has left me and my children in a very bad position, and we need help.
I tried to stay in Georgia so that the boys, ages 4 and 1, could continue seeing their father regularly, but when my husband repeatedly insisted to me that he had nowhere to stay except for the house we had all been living in together, I had to leave. The prospect of living with the man who had betrayed my trust and broken the promise to keep our family together was intolerable to me. He insisted he had nowhere else to go (while simultaneously maintaining his relationship with the other woman and refusing marriage counseling), and since he wouldn't leave, I had to. I took the boys with me because I can't bear to be away from them but also because their father is a full-time graduate student whose schedule does not permit him to be their sole caregiver.
We arrived to Arizona a month ago and have been staying in the guest room of my mother's house. She has been the key to our survival: providing us room and board and even giving me employment. I am currently working as the nanny of a two-week-old infant whom my mom is in the process of adopting, which has meant that I can keep my own lovely children home with me while I work and therefore avoid incurring expenses associated with daycare. In that respect, I have been very lucky.
But we're still struggling, and our current living situation can't be permanent. The guest room we're living in will soon be transformed into a nursery for the new baby. The boys and I need to find a home of our own, and the costs of securing an apartment and moving our belongings from across the country will be considerable. As much as I wish my husband would Go Fund Me, the reality is that his ability to offer financial assistance will continue to be extremely limited for the next year and a half as he finishes earning his second master's degree. (One isn’t enough? Evidently not.)
I am asking for donations to help me and my dear boys find a new home. Most of the apartments we are looking at require security deposits and first month's rent upfront, and at the rate I'm earning, it would take at least half a year to save that initial amount (my mother's new baby will require her own room much sooner than that), and to move our belongings from across the country is, at present and for the foreseeable future, unaffordable. The alternative—purchasing all new furniture and toys—is equally impossible. I am asking for help achieving the impossible, and I want to offer donors of $20 or more a collection of my writing, which doesn't exist yet but will by March 2016! I will compile, edit, and enhance the best pieces I have written over the last few years (and hopefully write some brand new material as well: it has been inspiring to lose the life I thought I had). I will have my collection bound and mailed to your address, if that's the sort of thing you'd be interested in.
It feels like we have to start our lives totally over, and my children and I will be hugely and forever grateful for any and all assistance we receive. I'm already grateful that you have taken the time to read this! Thank you so much!
I tried to stay in Georgia so that the boys, ages 4 and 1, could continue seeing their father regularly, but when my husband repeatedly insisted to me that he had nowhere to stay except for the house we had all been living in together, I had to leave. The prospect of living with the man who had betrayed my trust and broken the promise to keep our family together was intolerable to me. He insisted he had nowhere else to go (while simultaneously maintaining his relationship with the other woman and refusing marriage counseling), and since he wouldn't leave, I had to. I took the boys with me because I can't bear to be away from them but also because their father is a full-time graduate student whose schedule does not permit him to be their sole caregiver.
We arrived to Arizona a month ago and have been staying in the guest room of my mother's house. She has been the key to our survival: providing us room and board and even giving me employment. I am currently working as the nanny of a two-week-old infant whom my mom is in the process of adopting, which has meant that I can keep my own lovely children home with me while I work and therefore avoid incurring expenses associated with daycare. In that respect, I have been very lucky.
But we're still struggling, and our current living situation can't be permanent. The guest room we're living in will soon be transformed into a nursery for the new baby. The boys and I need to find a home of our own, and the costs of securing an apartment and moving our belongings from across the country will be considerable. As much as I wish my husband would Go Fund Me, the reality is that his ability to offer financial assistance will continue to be extremely limited for the next year and a half as he finishes earning his second master's degree. (One isn’t enough? Evidently not.)
I am asking for donations to help me and my dear boys find a new home. Most of the apartments we are looking at require security deposits and first month's rent upfront, and at the rate I'm earning, it would take at least half a year to save that initial amount (my mother's new baby will require her own room much sooner than that), and to move our belongings from across the country is, at present and for the foreseeable future, unaffordable. The alternative—purchasing all new furniture and toys—is equally impossible. I am asking for help achieving the impossible, and I want to offer donors of $20 or more a collection of my writing, which doesn't exist yet but will by March 2016! I will compile, edit, and enhance the best pieces I have written over the last few years (and hopefully write some brand new material as well: it has been inspiring to lose the life I thought I had). I will have my collection bound and mailed to your address, if that's the sort of thing you'd be interested in.
It feels like we have to start our lives totally over, and my children and I will be hugely and forever grateful for any and all assistance we receive. I'm already grateful that you have taken the time to read this! Thank you so much!
Organizer
Amelia Laney Hall
Organizer
Phoenix, AZ
