MY LIFE STORY
and her unborn baby son Christoper
I bought them on the anniversary of her fatal beating.
I will always keep the spirit of Rachel alive.
Helped me to write my own.
I have never written about my horrific experience with domestic violence before.
But when I read the reasons which led to Rachel Miller's death,
my mind raced back to my first marriage.
This has been 40 years but the scars are still in my mind and heart
God is the reason that I can write about this today
He carries me through every day
God brought me back to the walk of life:
It took me 8 years, and 3 children, aged five, three and one,
and a Mother's instinct, to realize
that we were all going to die at the hands of this sick man
And he was going to get away with it.
So I listened to my heart, and my instinct
which I advise all of you to do too.
I gathered the children into my car after he went to work
and I fled with them, leaving all our personal belongings behind us.
This is something very important!!
dont think of material goods, just think of saving your life,
Once you are safe and secure you can have everything you need
He threatened and haunted us for years,
and tried to get us to come back to him.
I lived in fear every hour of every day,
that he would take the children as he threatened to do, or kill us all.
It has really been hard on my children over the years.
They never had a 'Father' growing up.
Reading about how Rachel Miller died
and the fact that she was pregnant with Baby Christopher
when she succumbed to her brutal beating made me so angry again
It made me want to reach out to anyone who has,
or is going through any kind of abusive relationship
Mental games people play and verbal abuse,
can be as damaging and can end violently as well
of intelligent, enlightened people, don't band together,
to fight this horrible fate that so many women
and some men have to endure.
'NOTHING WILL CHANGE'
All of us who have been through any kind of abusive relationship,
women or men or children
should reach out to each other and be able to share,
this is a part of the healing proces
and what helps us to be able to move on with our lives
I had a plan and started to work towards making it come true;
I put myself thru college and got my business degree at age of 40,
but saw that I also needed to go into Motel mangement to live on the ocean,
as all that was there was motels and condo's:
So I went back to school and got my motel Mgr. degree
while working a full time job as supervis
at Abbott Labs and raising my 3 children.
At 50 I had my second degree in motel mgr. and a job
working at night in a small Inn down the street where I lived at night;
within a couple of years Abbott offered me
a attractive package of early retirement and I took it:
Sold my home had a job offered to me in a Days Inn
and bought a condo overlooking the Gulf of Mexico:
I was walking close to God and felt very content in my life.
I was given a second chance at happiness!
I met a wonderful man and fell in love.
Steve & I got married
and this has been what I never thought would happen to me:
"Happiness with someone to Love and to be loved:"
We will bemarried 8 years on May 13th. 2001
We sent out this annoucement with our picture after our small wedding..
IN THIS WORLD OF UNCENTAINITY AND CONFUSION
WE TWO HAVE FOUND EACH OTHER...
DIFFERENT YET ALIKE.
WE HAVE GROWN TOGETHER IN LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING.
WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO KNOW WE WERE MARRIED AT SUNSET
ON THE May 13th.1993 AT SUNSET:
A CANDLE LIGHT SERVICE WAS PERFORMED
AT LA COSTA ON BRADENTON, BEACH FLORIDA
At one time in my life I just thanked God to be alive from one day to the next.
I now have a good life and my children are happy for me.
Although we do not live close anymore,
we see each other as often as we can and talk on the phone all the time
Steve treats them just like his own children and grandchildren
I had no intentions of ever marrying again
when I retired and moved from my hometown where I lived in fear over 40 years:
I had a dream and worked hard to make that dream come true,
I always wanted to live on the ocean
'GOD WAS GOOD AND GRANTED ME THAT DREAM
PLUS ANOTHER CHANCE AT HAPPINESS'
