Support from Season of Sharing years ago helped Sarasota teacher's aide over the long-term

Looking back more than three years after the death of her husband, there were two main things that got Maggie Kristjanson through the hardest months of her life: her dogs, and Season of Sharing.

But what donors might not know, what many readers may never see, is that for recipients like Maggie, the benefit they receive from a one-time boost from Season of Sharing can continue to ripple through their lives, long after the initial emergency.

In the summer of 2020, Maggie – a teacher’s aide at Sarasota’s Tatum Ridge Elementary School – was in a state of shock.

Her husband, Ivan – her best friend, her gentle giant of a man whom everyone loved and with whom she’d shared every day of her life for more than 40 years – had just died of COVID-19.

“I was so completely devastated,” Maggie said recently. “All of a sudden there is a chasm, a complete void. You can’t pick up the phone, you can’t touch them.”

Adding to her pain was her isolation. In the early stages of pandemic lockdowns and social distancing, and recovering from the virus herself, Maggie couldn’t visit any of her closest friends or family.

All she had were Joey, her Jack Russell Terrier, and Pixie, her Chihuahua-Jack Russell mix.

“I literally would have died of a broken heart if it wasn’t for these two dogs,” she said.

Atop of her emotional distress was the fear of her new financial reality. Widowed at 63, Maggie woke up to a household income cut in half.

Her biggest fear was losing her house.

Support your neighbors in need: Donate to Season of Sharing

Maggie and Ivan had picked it out together when they’d moved here from Illinois more than 20 years before.

A one-story ranch sitting on a half-acre and abutting a lake, it was where they’d spent countless days in the backyard, which, as nature lovers, they’d let grow wild. Maggie had a master’s degree in environmental studies and Ivan had a special talent for identifying birds only by their song.

The home was also the place where Ivan told her he loved her at least once a day; and where they’d raised several rescue dogs, including Joey and Katie, who was replaced by Pixie after she passed away.

Everything inside the house kept Maggie connected to Ivan as well: the ramp they’d installed when, diagnosed with hydrocephalus, he was confined to a wheelchair; his computer desk where he listened to jazz or kept busy while Maggie was working at the school; the spots in the living room where Joey would curl up next to his wheelchair, if he wasn’t already in Ivan’s lap.

“That dog was glued to Ivan,” she said. Joey might try to bite Maggie every now and then – “He was a stinker” – but to Ivan, Joey was a loyal friend. “He did not leave Ivan’s side.”

The last thing Maggie could wrap her mind around that summer as her income was halved was the possibility of losing the house.

To help get Maggie through the sudden impact of losing her husband's income, Jim Camelo, a social worker for Sarasota schools, was able to get her $1,300 from Season of Sharing. The funds helped cover two months of mortgage and utility payments over the summer.

“Season of Sharing was such a blessing for me when it first happened,” she said of Ivan’s loss.

But it did far more than pay the bills. It gave her another gift: time. Time to do a reset, to figure out how she was going to reconfigure her life, to keep moving forward on one income alone, and to work up the courage to even consider this: 

“What happens next?”

After Season of Sharing

What immediately followed for Maggie after that summer was another blessing: going back to school.

“It’s my happy place,” she said.

The outpouring of support and comfort from parents and fellow staff was overwhelming through the school year of 2020-21. They gave her potted plants and gift cards; offered prayers and love.

“It was amazing,” she said. “It’s like a family.”

And the children she worked with in her ESE and ESOL classes kept her mind engaged and her heart full during the day.

They also restored her sense of purpose – lost, after years of caregiving not only for Ivan but also, before his death, for her father – a lauded legal scholar and leader in the Polish resistance against the Nazis during World War II.

The hardest part was coming home to an empty house.

The dogs were there, of course – Joey always sure to race from room to room whenever they came back in from a walk as if he were searching for someone.

Still, the house kept her anchored. By then Maggie had had the chance to closely study her finances. Working full time, she made cuts one by one to keep her budget balanced: no more cable or storage unit. Maybe she could do without pest control. And certainly, she figured, she could scale back some coverage on her life and car insurance plans.

“It was really important to me to stay in that house,” she said.

Dire need: Season of Sharing faces huge fundraising challenge amid historic need in Sarasota, Manatee

The only place to be

Aside from her emotional attachment to the house, her ability to remain there became critical for other reasons that grew increasingly apparent through 2022: the surging housing crisis.

While her budget is tight, Maggie has been able to avoid the plight of many area residents who rent. Some have had their rents rise by hundreds of dollars a month, while others have watched their homes sold out from under them.

Still, Maggie, now 66, is like many older widows, who see a far more drastic drop in income when a spouse dies compared to men.

“I can’t even consider retirement, not right now,” she said. “Eventually I’ll end up getting a roommate.”

Her job, though, helps her cope with her ongoing grief.

This past year, in May, she had to part with Joey, who at 19, suffered from numerous tumors.

“Goodbye, little buddy,” Maggie told him at the end, as he let her comfort him.

“He didn’t bite me,” she said with a sad smile.

In September, she got a new addition to the home: another rescue, Andrew, a 3-year-old Whippet-Terrier mix.

With his youthful, playful energy, Andrew has brought joy back into the house. Pixie loves him and licks his ears like a big sister when they cuddle with Maggie on the bed.

She misses Ivan always being there to tell her that things will be okay.

For now, she feels most peaceful in the backyard, their old favorite spot, among the huge oaks, the palms and pines. The property is always full of surprises, reminding her that this is the only place she wants to be. This past summer and fall, the land burst with wildflowers teeming with pollinators, insects, wasps and bees.

“It was beautiful,” she said. “It was a beautiful, beautiful thing.”

And then earlier this month, a bald eagle settled onto a branch of one of the pine trees at the edge of the yard.

“There’s Ivan,” Maggie thought, “showing up again in his beautiful way.”

How to help

Season of Sharing was created 22 years ago as a partnership between the Herald-Tribune and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County to get emergency funds to individuals and families on the brink of homelessness in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties. There are no administrative fees and no red tape – every dollar donated goes to families in need to help with rental assistance, utility bills, child care and other expenses.

You can donate to Season of Sharing by going to cfsarasota.org or calling 941-556-2399. You can also mail a check to Season of Sharing, Community Foundation of Sarasota County, 2635 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, FL 34237.

This story comes from a partnership between the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Saundra Amrhein covers the Season of Sharing campaign, along with issues surrounding housing, utilities, child care and transportation in the area. She can be reached at samrhein@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Season of Sharing help gave Sarasota teacher's aide long-term success