Holding It All Together — A Family in Transition

I’ve been doing my best to keep our family steady through an incredibly hard stretch, but we’ve reached a point where I need help to bridge this chapter.

After seven years in our home, we’ve been told we’ll need to move this winter — a major change on the near horizon. My daughter has just begun her first year of college across the country, and while I’m deeply proud of her, her absence has deeply shifted our lives. My teenage son is a junior in high school and needs steadiness more than ever. My mom is "getting older too," as Stevie Nicks would say, and is needing extra support after being a great support to us. Even our dog has major allergies that require extra attention now!

My husband’s business has slowed down—he loves his clients though the emotional and physical toll of these last few years has been immense for both of us, losing both his mother and my brother. Most days, I'm the emotional center of our home, holding all of the logistics and caregiving — and I’m simply running out of capacity to do the majority of the juggling of responsibilities.

I’m in graduate school getting my Master’s in Creativity and Depth Psychology, learning how imagination and art can heal which I can use in my work. It’s work I believe in with my whole heart — but survival mode crushes the life force of creativity and I have to catch up with the tuition that financial aid didn’t cover. I also live with ADHD, which makes the endless details of this time — paperwork, forms, deadlines, bills — a daily mountainous climb. We are behind in rent and essential expenses, and the upcoming move adds both financial pressure and emotional weight.

I’m aiming to raise $18,000 to help our family stabilize and transition over these next several months: to get current on housing, cover the tuition that financial aid does not so I can complete my degree, prepare for the required move, and create a moment of breathing space to rebuild with dignity and focus.

This isn’t about luxury but continuity. About keeping our home steady long enough for us to find our footing again as we pack up everything— It's about preserving the creative energy to fuel my work and catching my breath so I can keep showing up for everyone who depends on me (including myself!)

If you’ve ever found comfort, inspiration, or a spark of recognition in my words, courses, or creative work — this is me asking for help to keep creating it. Because we need healing, imagination, and beauty more than ever right now.

I’m not okay, but I will be. And your support — in any form — helps me hold that promise.

As a small thank-you, I’d love to include the names of all contributors (if you wish) in the acknowledgments section of my next poetry collection, a book born from the same spirit of resilience and wonder that’s carried me through this season.

Every donation, every share, every word of encouragement truly helps. You’re not just helping a family survive — you’re helping a mother, a student, and a poet stay connected to the light she’s determined to pass on.

With all my love and gratitude,

Julia