TL;DR: Jen messed up and didn't build a career while raising children and now that her husband is leaving, needs help getting a fresh start.

Hey, so, here's my deal:

I am a 51-year old woman who has spent the majority of her life raising children.

I got my training wheels by being the eldest of four and babysitting my siblings starting around the age of 11 (it was the 80s after all).

Then, after meeting my husband fresh out of high school, I helped with my stepkids who are now in their thirties (one of which has two little ones of her own now).

And finally, in 2005 (when my stepkids were in their early teens), I gave birth to twins.

It was then that I really became a full-time caregiver.

I did have some success with running my own online business starting in the mid-nineties but most of that went away when the twins came along and my husband has been the primary bread winner ever since.

I have done a lot of odd jobs over the years, too, but nothing resembling a career and my last job ended a couple of years ago. Ever since, I have submitted innumerable applications and resumes, but with no luck. I am still exploring options, but my current income is limited at best. (I get about $400/month via my Patreon.)

Without getting into too many personal details, my husband and I have been married for over 25 years now and still have a lot of love for each other. However, it's been a long and difficult road due to a myriad of mental health problems... we have no savings or anything of real value... and he is now planning to leave and get his own apartment when the lease on our current one is up on June 30, 2026.

As I write this, I now have less than 4 months left to figure out where I, my son Jo, and our our cat Cody, will live. Jo's twin Andy has managed to become independent of us through supports he found at his college and Jo and I have been exploring ways that we might be able to get him set up in a similar manner. Nothing is guaranteed, though, and while he has also been looking for job, no luck there either, just yet.

I hate doing this kind of thing but I've reached a point that I need to seek out any help that might be available... for both me and my son Jo.

At the very least, anything raised will help with expenses like renting a storage unit, buying plastic tubs to store our belongings safely, etc.

Ideally, I'd love to raise enough to buy a cheap, used vehicle. We are currently reliant on public transportation and a car would certainly help when our housing may be so unstable in the near future.

However, anything would help.

I have no reason why anyone should do so other than we're in need. I can say that I continue to try my best and I'm hoping once we get over this hump, the future will be much brighter on the other end. I look forward to the day I can be the one helping those in need instead of the one begging for help, but for now, at least...

Thank you for reading,

Jennifer