Let’s go all the way back to the beginning. Well as far back as I can remember anyway. The summer of 1964 I was about 18 months old living in Louisiana, I can remember rolling around in the floor trying to get my daddy’s attention. He was watching TV and my mom was ironing. I know what you’re thinking “There’s NO WAY you remember that far  back”. But it’s true. Shortly after that my dad and mom got a divorce, which was not that common back then. AND here is where my journey begins…

So my mom meets this man and they get married and move to Texas. Things were ok in the beginning but soon it all went very wrong. Without going into all the depressing details – there was abuse – a – lot – of – abuse!!!! We tried to leave on numerous occasions but were quickly picked up and brought back to more abuse. After a period of time and many failed attempts of leaving this situation we settled in to a life of fear. “FEAR” this is where it began and this has been my battle in life. Childhood should be about fireflies and fairies and ice cream and playgrounds. Mine was fear – fear of being killed. Did you hear me? Fear of being “KILLED”. This is not a thing a child makes up because a child does not think that way unless it has been a real threat or taught. “Do you want to die today?” was a common question in our home. This not only came from the man my mom married but from his mother as well, which explains a lot about HIS childhood and why he was the way he was. We lived with this woman (his mother) for a while and life was pure hell on earth. Then along came my sister and then my brother. Life did not get better. The drinking, abuse and threats continued. I was 6 years old and going to Kindergarten. Didn’t anyone see the sadness in my eyes or the extreme shyness due to fear? Didn’t anyone hear my inner screams to save me? Didn’t anyone know the horrible things I was subjected to? The answer is no, or if they did they did nothing to help me. There were no family members, friends or teachers who saw the signs. The only One who saw my fear and felt my fear was God. So this is where my first lesson began. I know you are thinking forgiveness is my first lesson but that comes much, much later. The first lesson is Tolerance. To be continued……