reddd

So far, so good, sweetie!

And a nice, warm welcome from the super-cool City of Fountains, Kansas City, Missouri! (Also home of the world's finest barbecue, by our own admission.)

Do you feel our nice, warm group hug?

C'mon, everybody---scoot over and make some room, okay?

Don't sweat it, poo---there's nothing quite like a nice, long, warm welcome to put as big a smile on your heart as it does on your face. . .

We kept your spot warm for ya. . .

Don't worry, sweetheart. Take it in baby steps until you warm to it, okay?

Welcome! How do you take your tea, sweetheart?

Howdy!!!

If we're meeting at the pub tonight, I'll provide the entertainment with my belching, okay? I used to belch instead of ringing the doorbell---it drove the neighours in the apartment building NUTS!

I'm glad you're here, dear!

Welcome, Lauri! Nobody in their right mind would expect you to just "let it go" overnight. As the Three Stooges used to say, "Rome wasn't built in a day---and neither was Syracuse!" I hope that you find the loving support here that you need, so that you can feel strong. The strength is there, deep inside you. You just need some help and patience to coax it out into the light.

Hey, Sarah, don't worry about me---I'm okay, really. It's just that my husband and I find this board really addictive, in that we want so much to help others, and it sure helps us to keep things in perspective. This woman who (along with her teenaged, mentally retarded daughter) lived with us for almost three years because they needed help, decided to "thank" us by claiming that my husband had been doing something to her daughter since they came back from up north. My poor husband is utterly horrified at the very thought of it, and I can assure you that the very opportunity for it to happen

Yippee! You made it! I'm so glad! As I like to say, find a comfy chair, curl up in your favourite afghan or quilt, and specify whether you want a cup of cocoa or cappucino or coffee or tea or whatever. Because that's the effect this will have on you---you'll feel pretty warm and safe. I haven't been on for all that long, and I ALREADY feel that way! These folks are wonderful at making you feel very, very welcome.

Cuddle up inside your favourite quite or afghan, here's a nice hot cup of cocoa---now relax. You're among friends. Let the pain drop from you, and smile. . .

I'm new here, too. I figure on coping with the present so I can deal with the past, and have a great deal of hope for the future. How do you take YOUR coffee?

How do you take your coffee, sweetie?

While thirteen years is an awful long time, I have faith that you'll realize with the combination of the passage of time and a whole lot of loving support, the bitterness and pain WILL fade and your strength WILL return. Who knows, you may just be the most amazed person around at what you could accomplish when that happens. . . Been there. . . reddd

In case you ever wonder about me, just check out www.poetry.com and look for my work under the names "Kim S. Schinkel" or "Anna Katsopoulos". Never mind what all happened to me in the past, this is ONE poet who won't be stopped by any mortal! Much love to all, reddd

For some people, prayer helps after a time. For some, meditation. The common denominator here is that you need to find a means of focusing on finding the strength that is in you, waiting and wanting to be free. Whatever has worked for you in the past to help you organize your mind should be utilized to assist you in presenting a formidable front to your foes. I never used to read Billy Graham's column, because I thought that he just slung around Scriptural passages as a cheap and easy way to solve any problem. (I also never really believed that the questions put to him were for real, eith

Thanks, everybody! Such a warm, wonderful welcome, that. One of my co-workers is also a survivor, so she'll be checking into this at home soon. She's a real sweetheart, and I imagine you'll want to treat her every bit a nicely as you treat me.

(My husband guided me to this website yesterday, after many years of living with the fact that I'm a survivor.) After John first proposed to me, I made it a point to tell him of all the abuse I suffered at the hands of my brother Kris. Rather than dump me as "tainted merchandise", he chose to stick with me, as I needed "a protector and champion", and he wanted to fulfill that role. Shortly after we were married, Kris called me up and preached that I should forgive him, as he'd been "washed in the blood of the Lamb", etcetera, etcetera. I told him that I was still a victim, no matter what h