Friday, April 13, 2018

My Current Goliath



And time marches on. While I will say that David's surgery is over and we are almost ready to blow this popsicle stand (the hospital), this is not an update on David, his surgery, his less than pleasant current attitude or the perfection of said surgery. For true updates on David though, please go to David's blog, The Incredible Mr. David. All the up to date and current info is there.

No, this blog post is an update on the other Goliath's in my life. By the way, someone asked me the other day why I called these things Goliath's. I actually thought it was pretty creative and obvious, but obviously I was wrong. There is a biblical story where David slayed the giant Goliath. Well my David has been slaying Goliath's since the day he was born and when he is not up for the job, then I/mom take over. So let's talk Goliath's!

Truthfully, I currently have several Goliath's trying to get the best of me, however, only one is probably of interest to anyone but me and that is Saving David's Home. 

For quite sometime, I inundated facebook and all the pages I run and am associated with, with nothing but Save David's Home information, fundraisers and updates. I did it with reason and purpose, to get as many people interested as possible. It worked because with the help of my community, my friends and even complete strangers, we raised more money in two months than I ever dreamed possible. Truthfully though, when we hit the $10,000 mark, that alone was more than I ever thought possible.

In the beginning, I was keeping people posted with regular updates on dollar amounts and upcoming events. It seemed that everyday there was so much to post to keep us relevant and apparently we did such a good job that people that didn't even know us or have friends in common with us were seeing David's picture and story in their news feed. That is pretty amazing. After the first big fundraiser though, my lawyer felt that it was in everyone's best interest to keep dollar amounts private as there were prying eyes around. Since, I have followed my lawyers advice and kept things private. I was also sure that although David has the best face in the world (to me anyway) that those on facebook might like to see someone elses face or read about someone else, so I backed off the constant posting. I went from dozens per day to a couple per week and blessedly, whenever I post, I have a loyal group who share the heck out of them. Thank you!

So where do we stand two and a half months in? Well after three tremendous fundraisers and donations from many, many generous people, I am pleased to say we are getting very close and that by June 30th, God willing, we will be able to not only Save David's Home but to also buy it.

The world has no idea just how grateful I am for the kindness everyone has shown my family and I am very aware that even those who felt they could do nothing more than share and pray did so much. I have no doubt that because of those shares and prayers, the people who could donate were put into our lives.

This particular Goliath has been a huge one. With one punch in the form of an eviction notice, it knocked me down to the point that I wasn't sure how to get up or even if I wanted to. I was blessed with a David though, who needed me to fight for him and his home and the quality of his life and once that realization was set in stone in my head, I did not allow anything else but pure faith in, all the while holding on to the knowledge that some how, some way, I would save David's home.

Once decided, this road has been humbling, exhausting and at times extremely daunting. I am beyond grateful to have had so many people that were willing to step up and help plan and implement fundraisers (no easy task might I add.....especially on such short notice). Many, many people donated supplies, time, skills, talent and lots and lots of effort to help us. These events were a whirl wind that sped by with great success and no one will ever know how much it was all appreciated.

One thing that has truly bothered me through all of this has been the motive behind it all. Try as we might, my lawyer and I have never gotten definitive answers as to why this whole situation was implemented in the way it was. The need is understandable, the way that need was brought to me was not. Still though, I have tried to be positive and open minded about the situation. Even though I will likely never know the motivation, I have tried not to second guess  or assume anything and to take them at their word. I have also tried very hard to be respectful about my father and brother as human beings. Because of this, it bothered me immensely a couple of weeks ago when their lawyer told my lawyer that they asked that "nothing else" negative be said about them, especially if I found myself not being able to raise the money. Both my lawyer and myself were both a bit shocked as to my knowledge nor his, has anything negative been said. Apparently though, my brother was catching some fall out for the situation, to which my lawyer replied, "We are not responsible for other peoples opinions or actions toward him." This is true, but I hope that people aren't doing this. If there is something salacious going on, then Karma is a bitch and they will get to meet her. However, if there is nothing more than what they have said going on, then I am not going to hurt them or ruin their name just because they caught me off guard. So please....don't speak unkindly of them, especially when we simply do not have all of the facts.

Well there you have it. This Goliath is coming down and by Goliath, I mean situation and not people. (tee hee hee) We are getting closer and it is because of all the amazing people out there who love David and genuinely care about others. Your kindness has been inspiring and each and every day I do my best to pay every single act you have shown us....forward.

Love, kindness and faith.....I thank you all.