Parenting

Scary Mommy Nation Recipients

by Scary Mommy
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Originally Published: 

TESTIMONIALS FROM SCARY MOMMY NATION RECIPIENTS

Without Scary Mommy Nation, we would have spent Thanksgiving evening eating noodles and maybe, if we were lucky, a half chicken from Boston Market. But thanks to the generosity of complete strangers, I was able to prepare a turkey, stuffing, side dishes, pies and more with enough leftovers to make soup and sandwiches for days. The meal was so much more than a meal, though. It was proof to me and my family that people really do care, there is good in the world and that we would be ok, at a time when we were doubting all of those things. I’ll never adequately be able to express my gratitude, but I will say again, thank you. From the bottom of my heart.

When I saw my approval email I couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down my face. I was desperately trying to find a way to adjust our budget to allow for the cost of a Thanksgiving day dinner that wasn’t a cheap rotisserie chicken and some potatoes. I realized to even make this happen we would have to not pay at least one of our monthly bills. I hated the feeling of failing my family. I thought isn’t Thanksgiving all about family? And here I’ve failed mine. I looked at Twitter and saw the tweet saying applications were being accepted. I thought surely there is no way that my little family deserves this help. We always find a way to survive even if it means a less than traditional Thanksgiving day dinner. I said the same thing I always do. We will be fine, we don’t need help and moved on with my day. Later as I tried to make the last $20 in our bank account cover a few more weeks of groceries and put gas in the car I realized I could ask for help, I needed to ask for help. So I applied with very low hopes we would be chosen. Then I got the email. The email that lifted a physical weight off of my shoulders. I have a million other things to worry about but this was one thing I didn’t have to fret over anymore. I am finally looking forward to making a delicious dinner without the guilt of knowing I didn’t pay our electric bill just so we could have a turkey and stuffing. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is incredibly humbling to need help like this and I am hoping once I am finished with nursing school I will be able to give back tenfold to those moms just like me, other scary moms who feel like they are at the bottom of a pit with no ladder. I want to one day be the helping hand that reaches in, but for now it was the scary mommy nation that extended a hand down into that pit to help pull me out. For that I am eternally grateful. Thank you so much.

I have spent many sleepless nights with my babies by my side either nursing my newborn or dealing with whatever ailment real or “real to them” my 2 & 5 yr olds have or just plain worrying if I’m doing things right. I found Scary mommy in Facebook and since the day I found it I have pulled up your page to laugh, cry, feel confirmed in the craziness that is my life & is in fact others lives as well, and recently I searched for the reality that I’m not alone it needing a little help. You have found a way to help single moms in a position that they can’t do it all by themselves for the time being, but you do it in a way that’s not demeaning or so humbling it becomes embarrassing. Thank you. I opened my email today hoping to have heard from my mom or brother who both live overseas, I needed a little Internet hug because I was feeling down. I received my confirmation email that my little family was “adopted” for thanksgiving and I just started crying, my sons birthday and Halloween just passed and I was barely able to do the minimum so knowing thanksgiving will be awesome just about made my year! I can’t wait to be in a position to pay it forward and be on the giving end of this project but in the meantime…. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

We weren’t planning on having a Thanksgiving dinner at all in 2011, so when I was able to receive help, I felt like I’d won the lottery. I cried tears of joy ripping into the envelope and vowed at that moment to pay it forward. This year, I have a job, have paid down debt and am able to contribute to someone else’s meal. Doing that was one of the proudest moments of my life.

I am totally in tears writing to thank you from the deepest part of my heart. Today was an especially hard day, and this good news has truly touched and overtaken me. I am so very thankful to be chosen to receive this help. I can now know in advance we will have food and a Thanksgiving meal. You are helping myself and the other recipients beyond just the food. You are helping us all have some hope, some strength, relieve a little of the stress, to feel some peace and for that we are all so deeply grateful.

In a time where we were grieving and financially hurting after a major death in the family, Scary Mommy came to the rescue. We were able to have an amazing Thanksgiving thanks to them. We will be forever grateful for the generosity of the community.

I can’t even express the emotions running through me! Thanks to the kindness of perfect strangers, I can breath a sigh of relief for the first time in weeks. Thank you to everyone for being so giving and helping those in need! My spirit has been lifted, and my family will pay it forward for sure!!!

I happened upon the Scary Mommy site looking for a place to vent and connect with other mommies. After a few days I kept seeing a thread for Thanksgiving assistance. Being too proud, it took me several days to fill out the application. Once I completed everything, though, I felt right at home. The Thanksgiving help came at a time when I needed it most. My hope is that I can one day give back to Scary Mommy Nation.

I’m sitting here near tears…Thank you so much. This money means food on our table and I thank you from the bottom of my heart and the rest of my family’s heart. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thanksgiving wouldn’t be possible this year without your love and kindness and generosity.

I was waiting to hear on my disability claim and we were so very broke and behind on our bills. Scary Mommy saved me at Thanksgiving with a gift card to my local grocery store. I cried when I received it, it was such a big help to our family! I recently was approved for disability and I’ll never forget how Scary Mommy came through for me!

There are no words for the relief you have brought to my family. Knowing that there are people in this world who want to bring happiness into the lives of strangers has changed not only my holiday, but my outlook on life. From my family to all of yours, thank you.

I was confused for a moment when I saw the envelopes in my mail this afternoon (Huh? I don’t know anyone named Meghan in Arizona…). Then I remembered Scary Mommy, and my heart skipped a beat. Words cannot express how grateful I am to Meghan, and to the woman with the postmark from Kearny, NJ (signed simply “Me”) who also, incredibly, included “a little something extra for the upcoming gift-giving season.” You have made my family’s holidays immeasurably brighter. Thank you so, so much.

I wanted to send a note of thanks to you for organizing the Scary Mommy Thanksgiving and for the generosity of your readers. Because of $50 that you sent, our family was able to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal with turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, Jello salad, and pumpkin pie. It’s not often that we can afford a $50 meal, but thanks to you and your readers, today we could!

Can you help give another mother Thanksgiving this year? Learn more about the Thanksgiving Project or donate below.

(You can also mail checks to: Scary Mommy Nation, PO Box 20866 Baltimore, MD 21209)

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