Hi! My name is Brooke. My mom, Dianne, will be 77 in June. My dad, Roger, just turned 69. (My mom is a cougar) They have owned their own furniture repair and refinishing business since the 70s. All I’ve ever known of my parents is working their fingers to the bones to make a living for the four of us. Late nights, sweat covered shirts and hair(what’s left of my dads, lol), stained hands, dusty clothes, and exhausted bodies were just the norm. They work. HARD. And they have built their life from the ground up. They raised two very tough and independent minded girls (apologies to my very patient husband here) who were always told to never ever rely on anyone else to take care of you.

On February the 8th, they celebrated their 50th anniversary. With the help of some dear friends and family, we pulled off throwing them a surprise party at an absolutely beautiful location donated by some huge hearted individuals. Earlier that morning, while it was still dark and everyone was asleep, they had their family car and dads work van full of his tools and a completed job he had been working on stolen from their driveway. Mom woke up to make coffee and looked out the front window per her usual routine and panicked. Dad called me hoping it was some kind of ill attempt at an anniversary prank, but no.

Their insurance had lapsed past the grace period. It was one of those things that each one thought the other took care of, both forgot, etc etc etc…. Basically, insurance will not cover them.

In a ridiculous turn of events, my bound and determined sleuth of a father began a tour of the neighborhood in a car borrowed from dear friends and actually located their 2015 suv. They spotted the beekeeper stickers on the back window. The police were called, it was fingerprinted, and returned to them. The rearview mirror had been ripped off, trash in the floor and it wreaked of weed. The thieves had tried to remove the license plate, but my dad, in true Roger style, had bolted the beast down, thereby deterring their efforts until a later time.

So, I am setting this up for them without their knowledge to try and help them with the cost of replacing his work van and tools. They would never ask for help like this, so I am doing it for them.

Thanks for reading my rambling story and for any little bit you can give.