Hello, my name is Anna, and I found myself on this website after I heard about it on Youtube. I don’t normally like to share the difficult aspects of my life, and I am a very private person. However, I’m here because I decided to take a leap of faith.
I’m a single mom to two children (9 and 10 years old).
These last 2 years have been such a rollercoaster, and I lost 5 family members within a span of 6 months and became a single mom.
2023 has been a very eventful year.
I separated from my longtime partner of 13 years and became a single mother to my two children in February.
I live in California, and most of my family lives out of state. In March 2022, my cousin, whom I view as my brother, reached out and wanted to help him change his life and be free from addiction. I opened up my home to him, vowed to help him stay clean, and four months later he decided to go back east. As much as I did not want him to go back, I trusted God to protect him, and three days later, I got the news that my cousin overdosed. I was in complete shock and was unable to forgive myself, but I had to stay sane to keep things in order for my family.
A month after my cousin passed away, I started a new position and worked 100% from home as an advisor in the senior living industry. I buried myself in my work to distract myself and used my pain as motivation to make sure I continued to be self-sufficient.
For the majority of my relationship with my ex (13 years), I was the breadmaker. My ex was either unemployed, in between jobs, or incarcerated. For most of my children’s lives, I’ve been their sole caretaker, and I will do anything and everything for my kids.
Two months into my new job (September 2022), my ex began to be completely intolerable. I worked strategically to leave my apartment with my children and dogs right after every shift. We’d come home when we knew my ex would be asleep and barricade my children’s bedroom doors so he wouldn’t disturb us. Luckily for us, he would leave by 6 a.m., which allowed my kids and me peace in the mornings.
One night in November, my ex and I got into an argument, and he took my car keys and wallet, so I couldn’t leave with my kids. (There was a time in the relationship where we agreed to never fight in front of our kids and usually wait until the kids were in bed, but he really changed over the night.) That night in November, he was trying absolutely everything to get a reaction out of me, and I continued to ignore him until he started picking on our son, and I was completely enraged when our son started to cry. He’s a complete narcissist and will do anything for a reaction. He will hurt my dog or pretend to hurt her just to get a rise out of me. He was threatening to physically hurt my son for not getting him the remote controller for the TV, and I called the police for help. The police did not do anything, and I found myself hitting a brick wall every time I called for help because the abuse could not be proved. They were looking for physical evidence (a bruise or a black eye) in order to remove him from our home.
So I decided to plan an escape and save as much money as I could to move out by March, and I accepted that I would have to walk on eggshells until I had my own place.
A week after our argument, my other cousin was hospitalized due to an accident. A month later, my cousin passed away, and I found out about his passing while I had COVID.
The last week of January, I attempted to call the cops again for a similar situation but was turned away. I decided to go to court and file for a restraining order or move-out order, and that same exact day I got a phone call that my grandma was in the ICU.
By the time it was February, my life was completely upside down, and I was still trying to drown myself in work despite the challenges I was facing in my personal life. I was able to take some time off of work to spend time with my grandma before she passed away. After a week off of work, I went back to my normal routine and just did my best to keep everything together.
I have over $3500 per month in bills, and I am the sole provider for my children. By the time my ex was ordered to leave, he removed himself from the lease, stopped paying for half of my rent, and I was financially responsible for everything. I was not qualified for any government assistance, nor have I received any child support.
I thank the Lord every day for blessing me with a career that can support my family of 3 plus 2 dogs.
Unfortunately, in April 2023, I hit a breaking point after I attended my grandfather’s funeral. I was unable to sleep, think properly, or function, and in June 2023, I had to go on a medical leave from work. Since I was not yet employed with the company for a year, I was ineligible for FMLA and had no choice but to pay my bills with my credit cards and my savings.
My medical leave ended up being 2 months long, and I just went back to work a month ago. My income is not the same as it was in May because I’m starting from scratch, and it takes at least 4-5 months to start seeing the fruits of my labor with my job. I used to also do grocery delivery as a side hustle to have extra money, but with the outrageous gas prices, I stopped driving 50 miles to get to the city, where I actually get orders to shop for people. My financial situation has completely changed since May, and I’ve also been avoiding my dentist and have postponed my dental procedure because I can’t afford it at this time. I’ve been wearing a temporary crown on my front tooth since May, and my tooth was scheduled to be extracted in August. I am also now in a position where I don’t know how I’m going to be able to pay all of my bills for the next few months, as this paycheck I just received will allow me to pay for my utilities, my phone bill, and groceries. I won’t have enough for my rent in less than 2 weeks, but I am hoping and praying for the best possible outcome.
I will be 31 in a few weeks and will be a mom for officially 11 years, 5 days after my birthday next month. My daughter will be turning 11. My daughter and son mean the absolute world to me.
11 years ago, I was in a woman’s shelter because I had a broken relationship with my parents. They were not accepting of me becoming a mom so soon, so I moved out to protect my daughter and contacted 211 for assistance. 11 years ago, I was saved by God, and he changed my life completely. God placed me in a beautiful shelter, which I lived in for 8 months. God transformed my life, and everything I prayed for then, God has blessed me with now. My relationship with my family has been mended, although distance is still a challenge. Despite my current circumstances, I know how faithful God is. He will not forsake me, as he always keeps his promises. I am grateful that God continues to provide, and therefore I am blessed.
I want to tell you how much I appreciate the time you shared with me to learn about my situation. I am fully aware and understand that there are people who are in need of more help, and I pray for them.
I would appreciate many prayers and want to thank you again for your time.
Prayers and all donations are appreciated.
https://paypal.me/celinkzzz?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US
I am truly humbled by your kindness.
God bless.