Well, today should be Kieran's first day of school but instead, his friends will all board the bus and greet each other in the halls while he stays at home with me. Today begins our adventure as he becomes the home schooled brother that is happily supporting his sister's dreams by moving across the country and taking on the unknown. As I sit here this morning thinking about his unselfish support, I am reminded that so many others have supported Ellysa to help make her dreams a reality as well.
The concept "It takes a village" has been shown so often lately in our lives that I don't know how any of this would be possible without our village. The support has been wide and varied. Some of you donated to her fundraising efforts, many of you sent or spoke encouraging words to her and others helped with dog sitting etc. when we needed to do something for or with Ellysa. My longtime friend, Darlene of Czech Photographic, took more photos of her than I can count and, if it weren't for our friends the Soens lending us their condo, we certainly wouldn't have been able to visit Ellysa as often at Interlochen. I am humbled by the love and support that our friends and family have shown to us and our children. I thank God that each and every one of you is in our lives and want to say Thank You for being part of our village.
Our move to LA is the biggest undertaking yet. The money we set aside to pay for Interlochen tuition this year will provide the financial support for the move. We will be living in a 600 square foot, one bedroom apartment and pinching pennies...LA isn't cheap! We will drive our 2001 Pontiac out there because flying is expensive and rental cars aren't in the budget. There will be ups and downs and, at times, we may wonder what we got ourselves into but I know, with the emotional support of our Village, everything will turn out great. And with the grace of God, we will grow in ways we can currently only imagine.
Thank you for being our very own VILLAGE PEOPLE.
Kieran sounds like a remarkable and very unselfish young man. Is your apartment right in LA? When are you making the big move?
ReplyDeleteHe is! He adores his sister and brother and would do anything for either of them. We will be living in Burbank and we leave after labor day :)
ReplyDeleteMelody, it is truly incredible that Ellysa has never lost sight of her dream. Obviously many, many children share her dream, but few have the strength to do whatever it takes to get there. It is also admirable that her mother and brother have sacrificed so much to help her succeed. It sounds like a Hollywood success story already. If I could add one criticism though, do you not think that it is at least a little dishonest that people donated money To try to send her to an art academy and you are taking some of that money to buy a LA apartment instead? Also, couldn't Ellysa have attended Interlochen once more this year to continue to sharpen her skills and then head to UCLA or USC next year for college and saved the family from hardship? Just a few questions I've been pondering, that is all. I hope that you do not mistake this for "hate" because I truly wish your family nothing but the best, I'm just curious
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments and I'd love to answer your questions. Regarding the funding for LA, that is strictly money from Keith's pay...if you reread my first post you will see where it says Ellysa raised almost $8,000 for Interlochen. Last year we paid almost double that plus books, fees and travel expenses. The money she raised allowed her to be able to attend last year. We wouldn't have been able to provide the extra money to make it work with a son that had just started college and moving, new job etc. we were blessed that the new job has worked out and with raises and bonuses (it's been a long time since we had one of those) allowed us to stretch the budget for this year. In fact we encouraged Ellysa to return to Interlochen but she just wasn't happy there for many reasons and it was her decision not to return. The move to LA will allow her to focus on acting for film and that is an area she couldn't focus on at Interlochen.
DeleteShe grew a lot as a person and learned a great deal. She got to live out a dream but, as we all know, sometimes things just aren't what we expect or build them up to be. I hope it's a lesson she remembers as she enters adulthood. It's a lesson we could all use to remember now and again.
Thanks again and I hope you keep reading!
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