I was born into a loving family with a mother and father who gave me a strong foundation. My dad was in the military, educated, and well-travelled. My mom was beautiful and a loving caregiver. My dad even took me mountain climbing when I was little girl. I regretted it as soon as we started. It was both frightening and exciting. My life was set up to prosper me and set me in places that would propel me to greatness, but cracks started to form. My mom never changed. Her love for my sisters and me was all encompassing. But even her love couldn't keep the cracks from forming. It's something how little by little one crack at a time, your life falls apart. It started with my parents and trickled down to me. One crack at a time. My dad went from military to, City Housing Inspector, into a man who I "thought" hated me. Drugs hit my life in every direction, my father, who became an addict, the men I chose to love, who were dealers. One blow at a time, one crack turned into a rippling effect. In between these blows there were many successes, there were some happy times, the birth of my children, becoming a business owner and owning my own daycare. I traveled, I partied, I loved, and I cried. I survived abuse in all of its forms, the homicidal death of my sister, and seeing a person I loved shoot themselves right in front of my face. God spared me for a reason. I Survived!