Celebrating my Freedom

I was just a young girl of 20, when I married my first husband. It was a tough time for me, because I really had no desire to get married, but my parents felt it was my time. I just wanted to work at the deli, a job that would grow with me in future years. So I married, and started the "wife" routine. Turns out it was far harder than I thought to learn to love and support a man who often changed jobs, and had a mean streak. After a year went slowly by, I became pregnant with my first child. Knowing things had to change, I tried to leave and be on my own. Well if you have Catholic parents, that is not in the cards. So I settled for plan B, a duplex with two bedrooms, one having it's own door for "Mr." to come and go as he pleased. I kept working full time, making decent money, and planning for the day when my child would be born. My son entered the world, and when I first saw him, I knew I could do it on my own someday. Well, that day came quicker than I thought, after one terrible night. I had locked myself and my son in the bathroom, and we slept on the floor all night. The next morning, I became independent, with a strength I never knew was lying dormant inside me. Within two days I found a secure apartment, filed for divorce, brought my son to a relatives house to stay for a few weeks, and moved out with the help of dear friends. When I brought my son into our new home, I sat on the floor and held him to my chest, thanking God for this new found strength and freedom. I counted my blessing of my son, a good job, a great caretaker for my infant son, and my liberation from a life I never could have survived. So, today on July 4Th, it is that freedom and the birth of my son, that I celebrate. For it was the factor that would lead my life through amazing journeys...