Finding Hope
When you aren't sure if this was hitting rock bottom or finally going up from it... I'm staying in a domestic abuse shelter with my two children. We abandoned most of our belongings and even our pets in order to come here. It is difficult to find hope during this time, but I'm trying. Years of an abusive relationship that I justified as being ok because "at least he didn't really beat me" turned into even more of a nightmare when my oldest daughter began opening up about abuse to her that I was unaware of. She did so to protect her sister and because she is far braver and stronger than I could ever be. Yes, he had a temper. Yes, he made threats. Yes, he was unpredictable and quick to anger. Yes, he was far too rough far too many times. Yes, he controlled and abused me. But, I had no clue just how bad it was for my child. He isolated me from my friends, he controlled all of the money, he verbally beat me down and gaslighted, he scared me with threats ...