My decision to leave her dad was one of the hardest choices I ever had to make. I didn’t want Bryleigh to grow up without a “family”, without a “father figure”. I had the most wonderful dad when I was growing up and I wanted the same for her.
She was a year old when I finally cut the chains he had on me and left. He was emotionally abusive towards me. Constantly fighting with and yelling at me for every little thing. I felt as if nothing I did was right, including how I was raising Bryleigh. He would often scream/yell so close to my face, I thought for sure one day he was going to hit me. Seeing this between us caused a lot of grief for Bryleigh, even at a young age. I remember once Bryleigh cowering in the corner of the kitchen begging us to stop!
I knew then I couldn’t continue on like that.
We went to a baseball game with his family, Bryleigh stayed with my parents. As I was driving us home he began screaming in my face again. He told me to let him out… on the highway and he would walk home. I knew better, ignored and kept driving. He told me to get out of our condo we were renting, and never come back. Of course, this wasn’t the first time I’d heard this. I decided this was it. I dropped him off at the condo and I went to my parents and never went back.
I slept on the couch for two weeks, unable to shower and hardly ate. I never knew leaving an abusive person would have this effect on me. Eventually, it felt as if a weight was lifted from my shoulders and I began to see life with new eyes. However, the hardest part was coming up next. Trying to figure out sharing Bryleigh, and court. Check out Wednesday’s post for the rest of the story.
Have you been in an emotional or physically abusive relationship? Where you as brave as her and took your own safety into consideration? Show your support for her and let her know she isn’t alone!
