General

[Emerald Mom]

Tonight, I had a launch at a nearby community library. It was a small group, mostly teachers who attended but it was a good night. Gave us a chance to talk freely and opening about things, mostly how the teachers themselves can become better abuse spotters (yes they were asking ME).

At the end of the night, my daughter and I were packing up with this pretty 16 year old came wandering over the table. The entire night, she'd been sitting behind the librarians desk helping people sign out books. I took one look in her eyes, and I knew something was wrong. She had those same, sad dead eyes I have in my picture on the cover of my book. 

Her next question floored me. She gets this crazy twitch in her eyes and says "how long does it take to get over something that has happened to you?" Well, how does one answer that question. Lord knows, I am still fighting with some of the stuff that happened to me. Well, I got the gist that she is with her mom, after they fled her abusive father. And because she has emotional problems combined with a disability, her father emotionally and mentally abused her (and beat her mother). She is refusing to see her dad because he beats her now, and is upset that her two siblings still go see him and others in the family are forcing her to visit him even though she is petrified.

She came to me for help! She said I was the first adult she has met in her life who she knows will know exactly why she's having certain thoughts, that I had walked there and she wants to know how she can get to the other side. She also confided in me that she's been hospitals for traumatic stress but has been waiting over a year to visit with a therapist. She needs to see someone. I saw it in her eyes. This poor child. I gave her my email (and a huge hug) as she shared her story. I told her, even if she needs to type page after page long emails to get her thoughts out, I would listen. In the meantime, I have already gotten the ball rolling to see if I can get some real therapy for this child.

THIS is what my book is doing. THIS is what I have done..I think its time for me to be proud of myself and see what this new life has for me.

[-Festive-Chick-]

I think you're absolutely right in that you need to be proud of yourself NOW...we've been proud of you for a bit now....and you HAVE to be your #1 fan,  if that makes sense! I wish you could have known it was okay to be proud of yourself earlier, but I'm so glad you're realizing it now!

I think this is only the beginning of a new, different, but extremely successful, fulfulling chapter in your life and I think this book is going to take it in directions you never thought it would go...fasten your seatbelt, for it's sure to be a bumpy, but interesting ride!

take care!