How the Cookie Van Crumbled
Donation protected
It's always hard to ask for help. Some may know our story and others may not. My 10 year old daughter and I have had some tough challenges thrown at us for the last two years,
Some of you may know that I have some medical issues I've been dealing with and made the difficult choice to give up my home almost 3 years ago. I knew it would be hard to share living space since I've always been independent and maintained my own home for nearly 30 years....but unfortunately it quickly spiraled downward from there.
The short story is that it didn't work out. I had limited options without family living anywhere close by. I have some great friends who reached out to help and I naively thought I would be back on my feet in no time at all. My pride was standing in the way of admitting how bad off my health and stress was affecting me.
I am a supporter and volunteer with local homeless shelters but never thought I would feel humbled enough to enter one myself, sporting a black eye, with my child in tow. This wasn't the lifestyle I was used to. I was also foolish to think that there were resources for people who are honest, worked hard, paid their taxes, and followed the rules.
In no time at all, my time was nearing its end and the school year was coming to a close. I was brought to my knees when a shelter clerk overstepped her bounds and called CPS because she didn't know if we secured a place or not. Everyone there praised what a good team my daughter and I made. The clerk was demoted but the deed was already done. Thankfully it ended with the case never being opened but it was still a nightmare.
I put that lump in my throat of pride aside and made the hardest call I knew I had to make. We have been staying with our beautiful angel since last June. With her help, the encouragement we have from our friends and my doctors, we are persevering in our faith but I'm finding this latest test requires me to put my pride aside (yet again) to share my story by reaching out to others.
Thankfully I had two vehicles but my Buick was recently totaled when the roads were icy and now my van is the only transportation I have to take my daughter to and from her school.
To put the van back on the road meant taking it to the repair shop to see why it was overheating last summer. Of course it couldn't be something simple like replacing the thermostat.......it's a blown head gasket! The heads also need to be machined and the water pump has to to be replaced. To top it all off, when I started it up, the catalytic converter had been cut off as well while it had been sitting!
My daughter's school is a Montessori charter school and does not have public busing. It hasn't been easy driving her every day but I felt it was important to her stability to stay at her school where the teachers and staff knew and loved her from the first week of Kindergarten, she is now in 5th grade.
We are very active in volunteering in our community and as most of you know I am passionate in empowering young ladies in their leadership and business skills with Girl Scouts as we are coming into the busiest time of year for cookies.
Thank you for your consideration of donations and/or posting to your social media pages.
Some of you may know that I have some medical issues I've been dealing with and made the difficult choice to give up my home almost 3 years ago. I knew it would be hard to share living space since I've always been independent and maintained my own home for nearly 30 years....but unfortunately it quickly spiraled downward from there.
The short story is that it didn't work out. I had limited options without family living anywhere close by. I have some great friends who reached out to help and I naively thought I would be back on my feet in no time at all. My pride was standing in the way of admitting how bad off my health and stress was affecting me.
I am a supporter and volunteer with local homeless shelters but never thought I would feel humbled enough to enter one myself, sporting a black eye, with my child in tow. This wasn't the lifestyle I was used to. I was also foolish to think that there were resources for people who are honest, worked hard, paid their taxes, and followed the rules.
In no time at all, my time was nearing its end and the school year was coming to a close. I was brought to my knees when a shelter clerk overstepped her bounds and called CPS because she didn't know if we secured a place or not. Everyone there praised what a good team my daughter and I made. The clerk was demoted but the deed was already done. Thankfully it ended with the case never being opened but it was still a nightmare.
I put that lump in my throat of pride aside and made the hardest call I knew I had to make. We have been staying with our beautiful angel since last June. With her help, the encouragement we have from our friends and my doctors, we are persevering in our faith but I'm finding this latest test requires me to put my pride aside (yet again) to share my story by reaching out to others.
Thankfully I had two vehicles but my Buick was recently totaled when the roads were icy and now my van is the only transportation I have to take my daughter to and from her school.
To put the van back on the road meant taking it to the repair shop to see why it was overheating last summer. Of course it couldn't be something simple like replacing the thermostat.......it's a blown head gasket! The heads also need to be machined and the water pump has to to be replaced. To top it all off, when I started it up, the catalytic converter had been cut off as well while it had been sitting!
My daughter's school is a Montessori charter school and does not have public busing. It hasn't been easy driving her every day but I felt it was important to her stability to stay at her school where the teachers and staff knew and loved her from the first week of Kindergarten, she is now in 5th grade.
We are very active in volunteering in our community and as most of you know I am passionate in empowering young ladies in their leadership and business skills with Girl Scouts as we are coming into the busiest time of year for cookies.
Thank you for your consideration of donations and/or posting to your social media pages.
Organizer
Tracy Vessey
Organizer
Mount Clemens, MI
