Today........Tomorrow..........Everyday After...........

I felt compelled to write this blog on my way into work this morning.  All this month I have focused a lot on Domestic Violence Awareness and I hope that some of my post on Face book actually educated some people on the issue.  I know there is still a large population that thinks it is not a big deal.  It's not like having Cancer......people who get cancer don't have a choice on weather or not the get sick.  I hear that a lot and I totally agree.  I in no way shape or form compare being a victim of domestic violence to getting cancer.  I've also heard people say that women choose to be victims.  Really?  I don't know anyone who would choose to be beaten.....but then that goes back to the uneducated opinion that a lot of people have.  I can't educate the world and I know some people will never understand the mental and emotional isolation that a victim feels.  Blaming and shaming the victim is not the answer but I know that is something that is probably never going to change, but that won't stop me from trying. 

This blog entry is not about domestic violence awareness but about what it is like for me as a survivor today.  I have been out of my situation 7 years now and just writing that I had to take a deep breath.  Seven years seems like a long time and yet it also seems just like yesterday.  People think that just because I'm not in that relationship any longer that it is over for me.  I'm here to tell you that it is not.  As long as he is out there walking the streets it will never be over for me.  Let's be clear I do not live my life in fear.  I can't allow myself to do that.  I have children that need to have a sense of security and normalcy.  I have way more good days then I do bad ones but even though I am not focused on this issue it is always in the back of my mind and some days it just floods my every thought.......like last night.

What I'm about to tell you might come across a little morbid but these are the thoughts that go through my mind.  I think a lot about the "What ifs".  What if he decides he wants to come back and take the girls.  What if he hurts the girls to hurt me.  What if he wants me to know what it feels like to not have them anymore.  What if............!!!!!!

I like to believe that he is not capable of hurting them but how many times have we heard that in the news.....how many victims have said "I didn't think he would ever do that!"  How many stories have I read where the abuser kills the kids to get back at the mothers.  There are to many headlines for me NOT to think that this is a possibility.  As I lay in bed last night I started to think of what I would do if he were to break in.  What if he came with a gun.  What would I be able to do to stop him.  Dial 911?  Grab a knife?  It could all be over in a matter of minutes and I could do nothing about it!  Nothing.  So yes it is at times like that I want to buy a gun.  I feel like I need protection not just for myself but for my children.  Then when it all settles down I am worried about having a gun in my house.  So there I am.  I am still undecided on this issue but more and more everyday I think of getting one. 

I have kept track as much as possible as to the whereabouts of my abuser and thanks to the Internet I have been able to do so.  He continues to be in trouble with the law and I am well aware that he has not changed.  This fact makes me even more afraid for our lives.  When he would go on a binder and use there was no telling what he would do.  So yes here I am 7 years.......7 years and I am not free.  Everyday for the rest of my life I have to look over my shoulder.  Every little noise I hear as I lay in bed at night captures my full attention.  People wonder why I use sleep aids?  I need to be able to sleep soundly otherwise I am on alert all night.  That is what it is like for me today and will be like to me tomorrow.  I try as much as I can to not live in this reality but it's there.  As long he is free I am not.

These are just a couple links to stories that flood our headlines everyday.  This is my reality.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/deputies-at-least-six-killed-in-shooting-in-spring-area/26871346

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/shot-florida-home-daytona-beach-article-1.1977668

Gotta Start Somewhere

Hi, for those of you that don't know me my name is Nicole. I'm not even sure what I am doing here or how to accomplish what it is I'm trying to set out to do so please bear with me as I go through this process. I am the mother of three of the most beautiful children you will ever meet. They are beautiful inside and out. I'd like to think I had a lot to do with it. I am also a survivor of domestic violence at the hands of my boyfriend turned husband and now ex husband. I've wanted to for years to do something to talk to help to get my story out in the hopes of helping someone else who is going through what I went through for so many years. I don't know if this is the avenue that I need to take but I guess its a start. I've done a few interviews and the people who know me know my story pretty well and are probably tired of hearing about it. I've also started volunteering at the very shelter that helped me to get back on my feet just 5 years ago. I still feel not satisfied and know there is more that I can do or should be doing. Maybe someone will read one of my blogs and hear my story and be able to relate. I know that it was so very important to me when I entered the shelter that others shared my story with me that I was not alone and they knew how I felt. I'm really not going to have any set format for my blogs but will just share when I feel it is right. I hope this reached just one person. For those who know me but don't know my whole story maybe this will help you better understand who I am today and why I do the things I do. Thank you for reading till next time stay safe.