Women Connect 2012- My Story

 I saw this link up on Becky's blog and decided to join the link up. I also decided that it was time to tell my story. It's a story that I do not share with many people, but feel that I need to share it now, for my daughter. It is a story that I will tell her when she is much much much older and when she can comprehend what I went through. So here it is. My Story.......

Hi. My name is Angie and I come from a dysfunctional family. I didn't have much of a childhood growing up. When I was 8 and my brother was 4 our parents divorced (because my mom found out that my dad was cheating on her). At first we lived with our mom ( she was a type 1 diabetic and took 3 shots a day), she worked as a dispatcher for the local Sherrif's department and did her best to take care of us despite her health. It was during this time that I met my future step mom at McDonald's on my 9th birthday. I remember thinking that I had seen her before (my dad had her picture and her daughter's picture taped on his sun visor in his patrol car. And when I questioned him about the pictures he told me that they two girls that were taken from their parents. Also, I remember not liking her at all, and wondering why my Dad wanted me to meet her, later that year, I found out why. We moved out of my mom's house on December 26th and moved in with my dad, his new girlfriend, and her 2 year old daughter that day. I remember asking him why we were moving in with him and he told me that our mom did not love us anymore and did not want us (when I was older, I think 18, my mom told me that the only way our dad would take was if my mom terminated all of her visitation rights to us, which she did). 

My dad and his girlfriend married on Valentine's day in 1983. That was the day my life changed. I was no longer a child with no worries. I was suddenly responsible for taking care of the house, the cooking, and my younger brother, and my new stepsister. Later that year, October 1983, my youngest sister was born (my half sister). So, when I was 10, I was suddenly responsible for not only my brother and step sister, but a newborn as well. I remember my dad moving her crib into our bedroom (I shared a bedroom with all three of my siblings) because my step mom was tired of waking up in the middle of the night to feed the baby. I was the one who woke up at all hours of the night to feed and change the new baby all because my step mom was too lazy to do it. This went on until I was 20. I took care of everything while my parents worked during the week and then went out on the weekends. I remembered birthdays, I kissed the booboos, I chased away the boogie man and the closet monster, I enrolled them in school, and I went to parent teacher conferences and school plays. To this day, when my youngest sister is asked who her mother is, she will tell that person that her oldest sister is her mother, because she was the one who took care of her. 

When I left home I was 20 years old and was madly in love with my boyfriend. My dad told me to break up with him or else, I chose to leave home. The night I left home I left with the clothes on my back and one change of clothes in a duffel bag. My boyfriend's parents opened their home to me and let me live with them. During that time, my dad, brother, and step sister stalked us for 5 years. We went through numerous police reports, and two protective orders (the first was denied because the judge knew my dad, and the second one was granted). After the second protective order was granted my family finally got the hint that I wanted nothing to do with and we were finally left alone. 

It's been almost 20 years and I have only talked to my dad once. 

It's been almost 20 years and my husband and I still together and we have a beautiful 2 year old daughter. We were told we would never make past a year, well 20 years later we are stronger than ever and our love had grown even more.

Wow. I'm sorry it took so long to get the point of the post, but I feel to really know me I had to tell the back story. So here is what the post is supposed to be about....

Hi. My name is Angie and I am a SAHW and SAHM. I love my life and without the above backstory  I would not be the woman I am today and I would not have the beautiful family that I have today. Whenever I think about my life before, I always vow to never ever treat my daughter as I was treated. She is my life and my heart. 

If you are still reading this I applaud you and welcome to my blog and to my life!

~Angie

P.S. Thank you Becky, if it weren't for this link up and reading other women's stories I would not have had the courage to write my story. Thanks for the encouragement!