Six Weeks Asunder
…six weeks asunder from the promise of six feet under, and still I rise…
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I began October with the privilege of being present in the capitol rotunda for the Kentucky Domestic Violence Awareness Month proclamation signing and press conference hosted by ZeroV. I was encouraged by the compassion and momentum that filled the room, and sobered to silent tears as names were spoken and candles were lit. One for each known, reported, and recognized life lost to intimate partner terrorism. Knowing that there were and are multitudes more. I came away from that experience with more knowledge, more hope, and more perspective. I learned things I didn’t want to be true, and realized things that will never be false. One of the takeaways for me was finding a way to begin sharing the gifts I have been given. I began posting daily on Facebook, using the #DVAM hashtag. It’s been scary. It’s been cathartic. It’s been daunting. It’s been freeing. Today, I want to share my post from #DVAM Day 16; a day I will never forget.
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#DVAM Day 16: Amplifying Individual Stories + Harnessing Collective Power = Lasting Change
Today held so much JOY! Yes, joy! I’m six weeks out from surviving an attack that involved repeated, violent strangulation and brutal blows to the head, being handcuffed for the crime of surviving, and enduring weeks of pain, fear, loss, limitation, and perpetual depletion of any remaining resources.
But I’m also six weeks into my new life, my new beginning, and my newfound calling: advocacy. I want to transform what has been taken from me into gifts that I can share with others. I want to reach me, but six weeks ago. Six months ago. Six years ago, before I met my abuser. I am reclaiming everything about this reprehensible use of me and my children as prey and protection from prying eyes and using it to starve those who consume and cower in the shadows, wicked and weak.
Tonight, I connected with more of MY kind of people. I joined 100 Women Lexington, and as they embark on a new chapter of their story and work toward enhancing their reach you’ll (hopefully!) see them in your news feed frequently. I fell in love with the people, the purpose, and the procedure: members make an annual contribution, and funds are then equitably disbursed to their partner organizations - local, vetted, impactful organizations who collectively respond to women and children in crisis, and work tirelessly to lift them out of poverty, abuse, addiction, trauma, and slavery. Organizations who have helped and are still helping me. The most appealing aspect to me, as a CPA devoted to exclusively serving nonprofits, is that contributing to 100 Women results in these organizations receiving an annual, estimable, and reliable amount of funding that enables them to plan for the long term.
Any dollar directed toward helping others in need is a blessing, but in terms of sustainability and efficiency, it’s an enhanced blessing when those dollars are bundled into an unrestricted, recurring source of funds. A foundation that can be built upon.
Today held many moments that were difficult. In some ways, it was one of the hardest days I’ve had in a long time. But what makes me different from my abuser is that I will sit with that pain, learn from it, and then release it in the form of progress. Helping my kids heal, picking up the pieces of a shattered life, showing up for my clients who are changing their pockets of the world in big ways, and seeking to share these gifts I’ve been given in as many ways as I can.
I am a survivor, but I’ll never settle for survival. I will thrive, I will triumph, and someday I will leave behind a legacy of love.
💜🕯️