They say there’s two sides to a story and then there’s the truth. Often our perception of what we experience differs from what the other person experiences. Our truth of the matter isn’t always their truth. But where does the actual truth come in? Does the “truth” go by some standard? Or is it measured by our perception of the situation or matter? Is the other person lying when their perception of the matter differs from mine?
I am going to piggy back off my last blog. I want the world to see through my lens for a moment. My truth, so to speak.
When my whole world fell apart over a year or so ago, there were many around me who just did not see things through my perspective, my lenses. Maybe they were lying. Maybe they were the crazy ones. Maybe they were just merely looking through their lens and couldn’t possibly see what I saw or experienced. Whatever the truth of the matter is, all I can do is try to get the world to see through my lenses. Writing about my life experiences is a big form of catharsis for me. So, I’m happy to share my life with you all.
Over a year ago, I had to make some serious life changes as I stated in my previous blog. It all started in the middle of 2022. I remember going on a trip to Mexico and when I got back nothing would ever be the same. On my trip to Mexico, I had left my child in the care of someone close. That was the first time my son had ever been away from me. I remember the day I came back; I was so happy to see my then 4-year-old son. But I knew immediately that something was not right. To spare specifics, all I will say is that I knew my son had been damaged. He started showing alarming signs and I knew that I had made the biggest mistake of my life by leaving him with someone who I thought I could trust.
During this time, I was also trying to keep a failing marriage alive. Things just were not the same. I wasn’t getting the help I needed and when alcohol is involved, it’s never a good thing. It seemed like I had a ton of bricks on my back and the burden was heavy.
As my son continued to show alarming signs of something not being right, I just knew something wrong in the state of Denmark as they say. At this time, I was struggling with decision making as a mother. Coming to the realization of some harsh truths, I knew I had to get my son and I out of a situation. I knew it would change my life forever.
At the time all this was going on, I reached out to so many people, so many organizations, but it seemed like help was nowhere to be found. I started to doubt my truth and my instinct as a woman. It was as if I was the only one who could “see”. People just were not seeing my truth. But does that mean that what was happening was not the actual truth? I struggled with this.
As I stated in my previous blog, I even reached out to my father at the time. At the time my father was in law enforcement. I thought surely, I could get some help there. That even though my father was not there for me when I was a little girl that he surely would see my truth and help his daughter, as well as his grandson.
I was so wrong.
I called him the day before Thanksgiving to come pick me up to give me a place to stay because I didn’t feel safe. I remember being in the living room when he and my stepmother questioned me about my life. They even ridiculed me on the fact that I had lost weight which I couldn’t help because of all the stress. I remember them waking me up on Thanksgiving telling me they had to drop me back off at home because they were upset at the fact that I still communicated with my other stepmother, who I love dearly. I just didn’t understand all the craziness happening all around me or their reasoning.
I struggled even more. I even thought I might be experiencing some type of psychosis or craziness. I thought that maybe what I was experiencing was not real. That my perception might be off. Maybe the lenses I was wearing weren’t the right prescription.
At the time I remember a very close friend gave me a place to stay while I tried to work out the craziness in my life. I remember crying all night and praying to God to give me some clarification. I remember holding my son’s hand as he lay next to me promising him that I would do whatever I needed to do to get him out of this.
That morning when I woke up, I felt confidence come over me. I knew what I had experienced was my truth and I had to move on that. What I was experiencing was MY truth. And the truth of the matter is everything did happen as I experienced it. It wasn’t about my side of the story versus theirs. This was the truth. Whatever story they were telling, I definitely did not fit into it. We were in two different worlds.
Who was telling the truth? Who was right?
Well, these are my lenses and I’m sticking to it.
More to come
