This is me...take it or leave it!

     I'm going to tell you a little about who I am. It would certainly make more sense if I started from the beginning....so here goes nothing.  I was born and raised in Townville, SC...you know the little town you blink and you're there, but you blink again, and you're gone? Yeah that's the one.  As I was growing up, everything seemed normal on the outside, but on the inside...it was hell. My father worked to make sure we had what we needed, my mother stayed home and took care of the house. We sure lived the "American Dream", or so I thought until that one fateful morning that put my world in shambles. I was about 8 or so when I awoke to my mothers screams. My daddy was at it again. He was angry with my mama because his dinner wasn't ready to eat when he got home. My older sister was pounding on the door and yelling at my daddy to stop. My baby sister and I trembled, as he opened the door and slapped her to the floor. The once brown gentle eyes of my father, was now filled with rage. My baby sister and I had always been sheltered from his anger. We were sent to play outside, or off to the neighbors. My father was arrested that day, and I never knew how much his abuse towards my mother would affect my own life. That was until I was married myself. I was married to the military, I loved the life style, but not the abuse that came along with it. I remembered how i felt as a child growing up in that kind of home. I remember how scared and helpless I felt watching my fathers rage unfold. I knew that wasn't the life that I wanted for my child. I knew if I was anything like my mother, I would make it out and I would survive. So I filed for a divorce in April of 2010. By October of 2010, it was final! I've had my share of struggles since then, and I'll probably have more. But you know what? It was that experience as a child that made me realize I'm the product of a house wife and an alcoholic and I'm not ashamed. It transformed me into the woman I am today, and that experience gave me the strength and courage to face any challenge that will ever think about crossing my path.