The old me spent a lot of time hiding...hiding from my past, hiding from the world. My past is full of pain. When I was only 8 years old, my parents divorced, and I never saw or heard from my father again. To this day, I do not know who he is...My mother worked 2 or 3 jobs growing up, to support me and my older brother, who is now 25. (I also have a 3 year old brother now).


Well, I graduated in June of 2000, 3rd in my class of 221, with a GPA od 4.46. My grandmother, who has always been here for me (she lived across the alley from me while I was growing up)became extremely sick when I was in high school. She never made it to my graduation. She passed away from colon cancer. I felt like my world ended!! To escape my problems, I joined the military about a week after I graduated from high school. The same day I got home from Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training (January 20, 2001), I met a man at the Unit that I attended. He will later be known as my husband...Matthew Michael Wood.

I was extremely happy during the dating period of our relationship. He treated me like a queen!! He pulled out chairs, and opened doors for me. I was genuinely happy. But 2 months after our wedding (November 26, 2001, Matthew voluntarily went Active Duty away from me. We had just moved to Virginia. I didn't know anyone here, and he left me...