For those who’ve been following her 'saga", she emailed me. She’s taking some initial baby steps to get out of her situation, a friend helped her get herself and her children out of the house, for at least a few weeks, after that, they’re not sure. She’s got a little local support, and hopefully this will be her ticket out of there.
Just wanted everyone who’s been follwing her story to know.
Can you point to a thread or two so I understand the saga better? Perhaps there are others who recognize Dragongirl’s name and are interested, but haven’t seen the relevant threads.
I can’t remember the thread titles of the ones outlining the (hopefully) soon to be X’s verbal and emotional abuse of her, but from her posts, the man is a real prince.
Several of us have been reading and responding to these threads and seeing the behaviour from him worsen over the months. It’s good to know she’s taken action. I know that many who were following her story will want to know her progress.
Best of luck to her and here’s hoping she’s on her own and on her way to a decent life soon!
I’m hopeful that she can find her way clear. I know how confusing and hopeless-seeming a process this can be, especially when you have people saying, “Well, at least he doesn’t hit you.” :rolleyes:
I wish her all the best.
I’ve been back for about a week now, my friend could only keep me and the kids for four days, but it meant a lot to me. I had told my husband that we were going to visit so it wasn’t a total suprize when he got home from work.
We talked a lot and didn’t really solve anything, but it gave me a little time to clear my head. It’s kind of hard to think around here. We also went out and had some fun, which I haven’t had in a long time.
I sort of have a loose plan for now. I need to get some type of skill and I think I’d like to become an EMT, I was a firefighter years ago and I planned to go EMT back then, but never did. I don’t know what kind of jobs are out there for that, but at least it’s something.
Before I do anything else, I’ve got to get the car running. I don’t know when that will be, but soon I hope. My husband is complaining about stopping at the store on the way home from work so I think I’ll probably have the car back sooner then later. I don’t know how he’ll do it, he’s still got the money, but maybe when we get our taxes back.
Since I’ve been back, I’m just trying to ignore him as much as I can, not really easy, but as long as I can hang on to the idea that at some point I can leave, I’ll be alright.
My friends have told me to call them if things get to be too much to handle and occasionally I can visit with them on the weekends.
dragiongirl - Is there any possibilty of keeping a couple of kids to make extra money? Parents pay something like $150/week for childcare. I know you’re pretty isolated, but if you’re not too far out, you might be able to find a parent or two who are looking for good, experienced childcare.
At-home daycare doesn’t really sound like what dragongirl needs right now. The socialization and experiences of getting back out there into the world will do just as much good for her as the money she’ll be earning will. Being cooped up still at home but with more kids to care for… not so much.
Well, girl, I’m glad you’ve taken some action and putting some plans into place. You can always, anytime, email me or IM me. I’ve been in your shoes EXACTLY and I’ve come out the other side. Peace.
EMT training sounds like a good fit, babe. I took the course and certification tests to become an EMT-B after we moved down here, and it seems to be a pretty decent job. The ambulance crews down here mostly run paramedics, but they’ll hire basics full-time if they’re working on becoming paramedics. I think starting pay here for a basic with no experience is something like $11/hour, and they run 24 on/48 off shifts. Vacation, insurance, all that jazz. Depending on what the crews in your area are like, you may need to relocate to get a job. But hey, you’re moving anyway, right?
As for the course itself, it’s really pretty easy if you have a fair understanding of biology. Even if you don’t, it’s really not hard. I went to a summer course at an area community college, where the whole basic course is packed into two months. Like most summer session classes, it was fairly intensive. We met four hours a day, five days a week, and had something like two tests a week. They also offered the same class in the evenings over the entire school year, which might be easier to keep up with, especially if you’re working and going to school at the same time.
The certification isn’t a big deal either if you’ve been doing well in the class. You have to have a certain average in the class, and do a couple of ride-alongs and a few hours in the ER to be eligible to take the National Registry tests. (If at all possible, take this instead of the state tests, in case you decide to move.) Our instructor combined the practical component of our final with the practical component of our certification, so we wouldn’t have to do it all over again. The written test is really long (SAT-type long), but it’s more of a pain in the ass than a challenge.
And at least down here, getting certified was really pretty cheap. The tuition for the course was $65, the book was $65, and the National Registry test fee was $20. A hundred and fifty bucks to start a whole new career is really pretty damn good.