It was my first day of class and I was extremely nervous and excited at the same time. I hadn’t been a student in a classroom in over 10 years. I wouldn’t let my nervousness get the best of me though. I had to succeed; if not for me, I had to do it for my children. I was all they had now, and they were all I had. I wanted my children to grow up and describe their mother as a strong and determined woman. One who would do anything for her children. In the past all they had known is a scared and cowardly mother and an abusive father. That would never exist again in our worlds, and I would make sure of that. I was free now and starting a new life for us. A year ago I would have never thought I would be in nursing school.
The day I left the father of my children I didn’t know where I would go or what I would do. All I knew is that I had to escape. I ran out the front door and jumped into my van with my ten month old baby still in my arms. I speedily drove to work and called my sister. Immediately she came to pick me up. I then explained to her that Fred had threatened to kill me. I had never told my sister that I was in an abusive relationship, but deep down she already knew. All the way talking about the situation, we went to pick up my oldest two children from school. For the first time in seven years I felt free.
I went to the one place where I knew I would be safe. My uncle Darrell had always been like a father to me growing up. He took me and my sister in when my grandmother died, and my mom was still too busy partying to take care of us. I never would have thought that he would now be taking me in again, but as an adult. He was more than happy to take me and my children in, because he loved us. That was the best feeling in the world at that moment in my life. My uncle fed us, counseled us, and just made us feel like we were at home. I found myself smiling more in one week than I could remember in the past seven years. My children and I were