January 23, 2023.
Today's a good day to write.
All month I've been thinking about serious things. No surprise there for those who know me well, right? January is my most bittersweet month.
I could list all the reasons why but I don't wanna. Basically, the reasoning surrounds one man... the beginning of my relationship with him in 1998 and the end of my relationship with him in 2015.
Abuse hurts.
Duh, Erica.
It especially hurts when committed by those you least expect to harm you. No one has that right. And I'm forever grateful for our freedom from the abuse and the abuser.
I've spent the last 8 years untangling his hurts and so have my kids. But this year is unique in that this year, on August 8th, he will be released from his TN prison. So when I say I've been thinking about heavy things, it's a different kind of heavy than the past 7 Januarys.
Am I afraid?
Yes.
And no.
Thankfully, there's a website that will track his moves upon release then send me notifications. Knowledge is power, right?
And we still have a host of supporters, including therapists, here to help along the way.
We are so much stronger today than we were 8 years ago today. And we were pretty damn strong back then.
I'm grateful.
And by August, we'll be even stronger. My adult/nearly adult kids and I will keep moving forward. I'll continue to be proud of them. I'll never stop loving them the way a mom should...without conditions.
He tried to destroy us.
But he didn't.
He couldn't.
Because we are internally strong.
And have all the right supporters.
Thank you if you are one.
I appreciate you.
Peace,
Erica