My name is Cheryl and eleven days ago our mother died. And for those eleven days, any time someone has asked how I was, my answer has been the same: I’m numb. I think that’s the most honest reply I can give them because its nearly impossible to actually verbalize what I am feeling. I hurt in a way that there are no words for; and I know I am not alone in this pain. I can see it mirrored in the eyes of my sisters. Maybe its presumptuous of me to even think we three feel the same when grieving is such a personal thing. No two people grieve the same. When I look at my niece, who lives here with me and her mother (and her Nana), I worry that she has been given an unavoidable truth that may be too great of a pain to process: the death of her Nana.

Forgive my sadness; it isn’t why I’ve come to ask for help. My parents bought this house when I wasn’t even 4 years old. For 53 years its been in the family and as cared for as we could afford. We often did the work ourselves or saved for years to make upgrades possible. But recently we needed a better used vehicle, one that offered much better gas millage than the van we’d been driving. We found a small, newer car that couldn’t hold 4 people, but little else. Still, I thought we were doing alright with that payment but then last December it became painfully apparent the roof needed replacing. We were stretched thin. But if we left this too much longer, then it would be a much bigger issue. My mother, bless her heart, wanted to get up on the roof and do the repairs herself. She really was getting frustrated with me always telling her NO. The new roof went on in February and the first payment is next month. I really don’t know how we’re going to pay it. I am not good at asking for help. But that’s exactly what I am doing. Please help me keep our home because I am worried my only option will be to sell the house to pay the debts. Thank you.