@-->--->----- in Book Five: Working Through the Maze 2018

The one thing I hope that I never lose in this job? The anger, the sorrow, and the desperate need to do more.

Just got a phone call. A woman calmly telling me that I would be receiving a criminal complaint where she was the victim. But she assured me it was no big deal. After all, her live in boyfriend just drank too much that night. They’re raising their child together, they are on good terms, it is all okay. Things are good for them. This is just a hiccup that needs to be taken care of.

Then I read the reports and saw the pictures.

This is a woman that society would consider is a “little big” but not by much. She has a child that is somewhere between 4 and 6. She’s been with her live-in boyfriend for almost 10 years. She works for a successful attorney’s office. Her boyfriend has several DUI arrests.

She had a black eye. He choked her “to the point it was difficult to breathe.” She had a black eye.

Anger, sorrow, a desperate need to do more.

PLEASE PLEASE know that if you are reading this, you are worth MORE than to be in an abusive relationship. Your children are worth MORE than to be in that environment. There are shelters, advocates, and Human Services that can help.

And PLEASE PLEASE… if you are someone that finds themselves “getting violent” or “getting particularly aggressive” when you drink.... consider some sobriety counseling. Life is too important to drink yourself into criminal charges. The people that love you are too important to hurt.

We are capable of being responsible for our actions. We are capable of being MORE.