Thursday, January 14, 2010

How did you beat the odds?

My father was an alcoholic-drug-user- dealer who had a chemical imbalance in his brain which resulted in heightened violence. And just for fun, he was a Marine in Vietnam who suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. My mother was the frequent victim of domestic abuse and just as frequently unleashed her anger on her children through emotional and verbal abuse. I was the oldest child whom took care of the three younger siblings, sometimes for two weeks at a time, before another relative stepped in or my parents showed up again. My youngest sister called me mom for a few years.

I beat the odds because I am still alive and not suicidal. I beat the odds because the first time someone hit me, I stood up and walked away without ever looking back. I beat the odds because I do not drink or do drugs. I beat the odds because I have a husband and two beautiful children who do not know (and never will know) what it is like to be physically, emotionally, or verbally abused. I beat the odds because I have not fallen into the many snares there are for people who have experienced these things. And I am proud of that fact.

6 comments:

  1. Wow.
    OK I knew some of this inferred more but you just filled in some holes.

    OK I am going to write a little bit.

    Hey Since I use My dash board and Google Reader to follow you I lost this for a bit.

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  2. Here are soem links you might like in ference to you new Blog name http://www.acjournal.org/holdings/vol6/iss3/responses/attias/virus.html

    http://languageisavirus.com/

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  3. I'm afraid to look! It has a beautiful, but edgy meaning or connection in my mind.

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  4. It is part of a quote by by William S. Burroughs "Language is a virus from outer-space"

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  5. I actually found the second link researching something else. It stuck with me long enough for me to decide to try it out on my site. Thought about it writing a prompt, but wanted it to be more than a passing thought.

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  6. This is neat!!!!!! I'm very proud of this person! Wish I knew how she/he did it. And what became of the parents. It's sad that there are people out there like that (like the parents and like the children who eventually turned into their parents...it's a sad vicious cycle).

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