Publetariat staff will be taking Wednesday, 12/23 through Sunday, 12/26 off for the Christmas holiday. No new content will be posted to the front page of the site until the evening of Monday, 12/27 at 6pm PST (our usual posting time), but members can still post to their blogs and the Publetariat Forum in the meantime. We here at Publetariat wish all of you a safe and happy holiday weekend.
And Now, The Update…
I’m going to share some fairly personal financial information here, but I think everyone who’s donated deserves to know how the funds are being spent. I’ve already shared enough that we’re pretty much past the point of what’s usually considered polite conversation anyway.
Thanks to the outpouring of support and generosity from Publetariat’s audience, friends of its audience, and friends of friends of its audience, plus some help from my sister, I’ve been able to make a mortgage payment, pay the past due utility bills, make a payment toward my outstanding medical bill from the surgery, and make a payment toward my outstanding attorney fees. I’m still two months in arrears on the mortgage, but the bank tells me they can’t "accelerate" the mortage and move into foreclosure proceedings unless I’m at least three months in arrears.
I still need to get completely current on the loan as soon as possible, being in default is trashing my newly-single credit rating (I became legally single December 17), but at least there’s no fear of losing the house entirely if I can keep making a mortgage payment each month from this point forward. I’m also trying to get a mortgage modification, but it takes a long time—it seems to be a two steps forward, one step back process—and the bank doesn’t stop its collection efforts while processing modification requests. I’m now setting aside incoming funds toward next month’s mortgage payment and utility bills. The wolves are at bay, at least temporarily.
***
I’ve been a writer pretty much my entire life, yet I find myself at a loss for words to express the gratitude I feel. Many times during this past year I’ve felt isolated, hopeless and fearful. I’m an optimist by nature, but I haven’t been myself for a very long time. When the person you’ve loved for 20 years, whom you thought would always love you back and be there for you, abandons you just when you need him most, it tends to make you doubt everything you thought you knew about the world and the people in it.
My belief that people are essentially and generally good is restored, as is my hope for the future, and it’s all thanks to all of you. Whether you’ve donated, offered me freelance work, helped to spread the word about my plight, or just sent a kind note of support, you have pulled me back from the edge and helped me back to the light. You have made what I expected to be the worst holiday season of my life the best, and most meaningful, instead.
THANK YOU, SO MUCH. THANK YOU.