I met WildChild, Bossy, and TheBeast's dad when I was 17 years old...he was the friend of my best friend's boyfriend. We were together for 11 years...11 very rocky years...very abusive years. When I finally made a run for it, I was left with emotional scars that I didn't realize I had. I had never had much self esteem, and in those 11 years what little bit I had was gone.
Enter Mr.OCD and Belle's dad...
He made me feel pretty, made me feel special. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. It wasn't long before I noticed my abusive history repeating itself. I didn't have the self love needed to end the relationship as soon as I noticed the warning signs. In fact, I was beginning to believe I was the problem.
When I started pursuing my degree in social work I was able to recognize that my relationship wasn't healthy, and that I was not the problem. School was like therapy for me. I was able to end another unhealthy relationship, but this time I did it because I loved myself, not because I feared for my safety.
The abuse my children and I were subjected to, and the affects it had on our lives, has impacted the people we are today. We have chosen not to dwell on our past, but to put it in a better place so that we can move on with our lives and be happy.
I was single for a little while, and I decided to check out the whole online dating scene. It wasn't long before I was contacted by ~The1~.
~The1~ was the most wonderful man I had ever talked to. He thought I was beautiful and smart and funny. We started chatting online, and then graduated to text messaging...for 3 solid months we communicated this way, neither one of us having the nerve to call the other. Finally, in June of 2008, ~The1~ asked me out on a date. We met on July 6, 2008; 2 days after my birthday and the day before his. It was love at first sight! The waitress had to come to our table 4 times to get our order before we peeled our gaze from each other long enough to look at the menu.
That date lasted 5 hours. We ate, we talked, we went to a beautiful park, we talked some more. I left that date on cloud 9 and nothing was going to bring me down...not even coming home to find Mr.OCD and Belle's dad in my driveway.
The next year was amazing. I had never been so happy in my entire life! My kids absolutely loved ~The1~! We spent many weekends together, my kids and his, going to King's Island, Red's baseball games, parks, swimming pools, festivals, and so on.
Until my world came crashing down on July 4, 2009; my 37th birthday.
To be continued...
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