She Believed She Could, So She Did

AAK.  I am a statistic of domestic violence.  I usually do not share my story but have chosen to in case it will help someone in a domestic violence situation.  It was Christmas eve twenty some years ago.   We had a previous incident where I was in the vehicle with my husband and we had gotten into an argument.  He took the vehicle by the river and overlooking the bank he put one foot on the brakes and one foot on the gas.  I was a victim of his madness. Since the vehicle was not moving, without thinkingm, I opened the door and jumped out.  That ended his rein of terror for the night as he lost control and that power of fear he had over me in the vehicle.

This night it was different.  I feared for my life.  I came home from working a second shift job.  The next day we were going to celebrate Christmas with my family.  It was going to be a busy day and I was tired from the week of work.  My husband had other plans.  He was angry and violent that night.  He held glass to my face and told me he was going to cut my pretty little face so no one would ever look at me again.  At that point, I thought I would be dead.  I do not think I have ever been more scared. He sexually assaulted me and then the anger subsided.  It was a long night and I thought I could get up, get the kids and sneak out of the house.  He had let the air out of my car tires so we could not leave.  The next morning we were held hostage in the house.  At one point I went into the another room to load the Christmas presents into a laundry basket.  He came into the room and  the boys and I rann out of the house.  I yelled at the boys to run to the store as fast as they could and do not stop.  He caught up to my youngest son and picked him up.  Just then, the neighbor and his wife were coming down the road in their vehicle and saw my two boys and myself out in the cold with no jackets.  The neighbor shouted "Put that boy down".  They must have called the police because as I collected the boys the police appeared.

He spent that Christmas in jail by choices he made.     We went through the court process and he was sentenced to four months in jail, no contact with me or the boys.  We divorced.  The boys have grown and they do not talk about this Christmas.

This was his madness.  I was strong enough not to give him the control and power of fear over me.  I am a lucky one.

Through my career as a medical provider, I have met many people who are victims of domestic violence.  We do not see what goes on behind closed doors.  Sometimes, we see the victims in time to help them.

This card says "She believed she could, so she did".