Hello! If you are reading this, it’s likely you at least know my name is Laci and I’m a single mom of two sweet boys (and if you didn’t, of course you do now ). What I share from this point, I can say very few people are aware of and it’s incredibly difficult for me to swallow my pride and put out there…but I have tried several options and unfortunately, this time I can’t do it all on my own like I’ve always done in the past; I need a little help and as a last resort, for my boys, I have to at least give this a try.

To cut to the chase…I need help getting the money needed to get my car repaired so I can start working again, with dependable transportation (not to mention getting the boys around for our basic needs). Now, I’ll explain a little to what got me to this point.

To say the least, the past 5 years have been some of the most difficult, complex years of my life. I’m trying to keep this fairly short, while remaining transparent. Just like many others, 2020 brought us Covid and Covid brought more problems. By July, I made an extremely difficult decision to end my 13-year relationship with the boys’ dad and around that same time, I lost my job after several years of dedication. All at once, I went from working and being the sole financial support for our family to becoming an unemployed, single mom… it was a devastating time but I was able to get by for a while financially due to brief unemployment and what I had in savings. I haven’t worked since and there are so many reasons for that…it was literally one hit after another. I have been hospitalized, including ICU, at least 3 times during this timeframe and that doesn’t include outpatient treatment I have received. There’s a lot to it but I’m going to spare the details for time's sake, but I’m willing to be transparent if you want to know more.

Most of the main medical issues happened between the end of 2020-early 2023. Due to all of the complications I was experiencing, I was unable to work and care for the boys full-time. I ended up losing my vehicle on Jan 5, 2023…the day after Jaxen’s 5th birthday. Right as I was about to be more medically cleared to start looking for work and finally taking my life back. Honestly, that day broke me more than I even realized at the time. I didn’t only lose my vehicle—also a symbol of how hard I’ve worked my entire life to give my kids more than I had—but I lost hope. I felt like I failed my children. I started to self-isolate since I had no transportation. It was a dark time. I am happy to say that after about 10 months of being in that deep depression, I realized I needed to get back into therapy and I have been working on myself and becoming the strong, independent woman and mother I always was. I like to say I’m getting my ✨sparkle✨ back and I’m feeling more like myself but definitely a better version.

So…the reason for the GoFundMe. The MAIN thing holding me back from really getting back up on my own two feet and proving who I am capable of being, while still healing from many things, we don’t have a running vehicle. This has made life INCREDIBLY hard without a job, let alone needing to get back to working. I’m so ready to work again. To feel my independence again. To rise above everything (I only mentioned about half, the bigger points) that’s happened over the last few years. To prove to myself AND my boys what resilience looks like and show them even if you keep hitting rock bottom, you have to keep going. And I’m learning now, maybe that means I need a little help to boost me past the rut.

I have a car that isn’t running and it needs a pretty pricey repair to get it back to being a clean, dependable vehicle for the boys and myself. The estimated cost with parts and labor is around $3,000 and that’s with my brother-in-law assisting another mechanic. I ABSOLUTELY hate putting my business out like this and even more I hate asking for help but I can’t stay stuck where I’ve been without trying this as my last option. I have to TRY. I’m more motivated than ever to come back and make an even greater life for my kids and I’ll never forget the strength it’s taken me to get to this point. I want to say I’m not looking for a handout, but a hand up. While I can’t give you an exact date at this point since I will need to get a job, I will pay back any money sent to me on here. It will probably be payments and on a schedule depending on how many people, if any, are able to help me with this, but I am good for my word and would even be willing to sign an agreement if necessary. I am literally just steps away from taking my life back and getting out of survival mode. But the first step is to have a running vehicle, of course, and I am confident work will come soon after.

If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate you for taking the time to read this. I’ve contemplated this a few times but could never just swallow my pride or be vulnerable…this is so hard for me to post. If you can’t help by donating/loaning, I truly understand and appreciate any prayers or well wishes. ❤️❤️❤️ Thank you!