The New House that Love Built... Or So I Thought
4:28 pm
I wasn't going to post a blog straight up, as I thought there was already enough info about the journey Jake, Josh and I have been on since their birth. However, now that I am actually ready to publish this website, I feel like some important detail is missing about why our financial position is so dire that I am asking my family and friends to ask their family and friends, and so on and so on, to fork out their hard earned dollar(s), so that my sons and I can stay in our home.
I've covered the most significant reason of my inability to earn income - that is, a lack of available time - but I think a timeline of significant financial and other events just might clear up a few questions potential supporters may have. So here goes...
June 1997 Jake and Josh made their way into this world.
October 1997 Ken quit his full-time job, as Jake was going back to PMH for his cleft lip repair. I was still officially a Manager for Tupperware, but was only barely managing my team - I had lots of help from my Distributors, other Managers and my team.
January 1998 I stepped down from being a Manager, as Josh had returned to PMH. I remained as a Demonstrator, but really only did an occasional party as a distraction from caring for Josh at PMH or caring for Jake at home. I used to be at PMH Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights and Ken would be at PMH Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. Saturday nights we pretty much tossed a coin.
October 1998 I started rebuilding my parties and my team, working towards becoming a Manager again. We also appeared on the end of Telethon that year. :)
January 1999 Re-promoted to Manager and 6 weeks later qualified for the car!! Ken and I worked around the boys' appointments, admissions, etc, with me concentrating on the parties and recruiting and Ken taking care of the ordering.
Middle of 2002 When both of the boys were well settled into pre-primary, Ken returned to full-time work and I stayed on as a Tupperware Manager.
February 2004 I stepped down from being a Manager, as with Josh not sleeping well, Ken working full-time and all of the appointments, etc for the boys, I was simply unable to function properly. My health, which had actually been less than great since 1984 (when I was 16), had also deteriorated. Specialist after specialist, that I had been going to for several years by this stage, had not been able to find anything more specific or treatable than Fibromyalgia Syndrome.
2005 Lodged 1st application for significant funding through Disability Services Commission (DSC). At this stage we were receiving funding that equated to roughly 10 hrs per week support. This had started as an even smaller amount in March 1999. I also started working for DSC in February of 2005, for 7.5 hrs per week, sometimes 15 hrs per week. My Manager was amazing and allowed me to change the days and times I went to work, to cater for the boys ongoing appointments.
November 2007 After being denied funding 6 times - 3 rounds per year - the increase in financial and other pressures and the lack of respite from the role of caring causing a further downturn to my health, Ken and I separated. To this day I still blame the State Government for allowing my family to fall apart, and I don't think I will ever get over it.
December 2007 My "change of circumstances" of now being a single parent was lodged with the application to DSC for that funding round and, low and behold, it was approved. Irony at it's finest.
March 2008 I bought Ken out of the family home in Heathridge, that he and I had purchased in 1993, so that the boys and I didn't have to move. At times, paying bills and the mortgage repayments was difficult, so I was a regular at the Salvation Army for financial assistance. I also applied for grants from Variety WA and the State Government to make the front yard safe and secure for the increasingly mobile Josh. A "Busy Bee" arranged by my friend, Julie (who I have known since primary school), meant the gardens (front and back), grass and paving out the front were also taken care of.
End January 2010 I stopped working at DSC, as managing both Jake and Josh's medical care, as well as scheduling Josh's Support Workers and a ridiculous amount of paperwork had become increasingly difficult to keep on top of.
The next couple of years I had a couple of administrative jobs, that were a bit hit and miss, especially as my health was also a bit unpredictable.
April 2013 Skipping forward a few years, as I really don't want to talk much about the person I now refer to as 'himself', whom I met in September 2011. Things had been going so well, that I (stupidly) decided to buy a house with him and we moved to Clarkson. This was possible, because I kept the Heathridge house as an investment property and he had a good income. Due to 'himself' having no assets, the Clarkson house was fully mortgaged. The stress from the move and getting the Heathridge house ready for tenants had a devastating impact on my health and lead to several months of chronic symptoms.
July 2013 I was diagnosed with Lyme (like) Disease, which, to date, has cost in excess of $20K out of pocket, for testing and treatments. The good news is that, after nearly 4 years of treatment, my health has improved by about 80% and, despite the added stress of trying to finalise the split from 'himself', I haven't gone backwards health wise. I will add here too that I had had a significant amount of $'s in my budget for as long as I can remember for medical costs. This was definitely a massive hit financially, though, so I was incredibly grateful for having an investment property that was at least producing a small amount of income.
June 2016 After 3 years of many difficulties and only occasional happy times, it was apparent that 'himself' and I were never going to come to an agreement on managing the finances, so we separated.
Early 2017 'Himself' finally agreed to me selling Heathridge and at least attempting to refinance Clarkson, with Jake and Josh becoming part home owners.
From mid 2017 to now Heathridge went on the market, with a sell price much lower than would be needed, to ensure the remaining loan on Clarkson was serviceable. Unfortunately, this was very much due to the market value of the Heathridge house, from April 2013 to the sale in mid August, dropping from $425K to $330K - yes, that is, with some costs added in, the $100K we need to raise to stay in Clarkson!
Geez, and that is a brief summary!! If you managed to read the whole thing in one sitting, I'm impressed. I do hope, though, that it is very clear that I truly have REASONS for being in this predicament, not excuses. The welfare of my sons has always been my number one priority, especially having a stable roof over their head. Hindsight can be a curse, as, given my time again, there are many things I would do differently. Having said that, I do go to bed every night knowing my intentions for the past 20 years have been mostly selfless and based on what would be best for my sons AND me. Moving simply isn't an option, as the effort and the cost would further reduce the equity I have worked so bloody hard to hang onto. I pray I have pleaded our case well enough, to illicit action from enough people to get us through to a result I believe all 3 of us deserve. Hopefully "hindsight" will be a much more pleasant experience in a few weeks time.