Updates ~ West Coast bound again?

Do you ever just feel like where you're at simply isn't where you belong anymore?

When my fiancé and I returned to Alberta, we were on a mission to help my mother and see to it that her condition improved until she could go back to work. My mother had a stroke last summer and it was a struggle to be out on the West Coast so far away from her. We returned to Alberta in October to be near her.

Last week, my mother returned to work. She is on modified for now, which means that she can only do limited things and nothing too stressful. It is a huge relief knowing that my only parent will be fine.

That means that our mission here is done. For the first time, I have come to the realization that my family doesn't necessarily need me anymore. It's a very strange feeling but one that is opening some doors. A reporter job opportunity has come up back on the coast. My fiancé has stated that he misses it out there, as do I. I'll know within a few weeks if I got the job. If I do, then it's back to the West Coast for us! If not, we have a back up plan. We'll just take off the summer and hit up a bunch of writers' festivals with a bunch of my books, hopefully to end up on the West Coast where we can find jobs again and continue the next chapter.

Our wedding is this summer as well. We set the date for July 5. To most people, the date doesn't mean much, but it does to me. July 5, 2004 was when Mom's abusive ex burned down the house. Life has continued since then. Time keeps going past as if nothing ever really happened but I still remember everything. I'll never forget standing on the sidewalk before what was once the house in which we lived, crumbled to ashes, this blackened oblivion there on Main Street to finally prove what everyone knew was happening all along.

By Lavinia Thompson

But I'm replacing that memory now; putting something beautiful and loving in its place just to prove that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. My own story is proof that for as many women who are murdered by domestic violence every day, there are ones who escape, if only narrowly. They are the ones who go on to tell their stories and find that light. I am proud to be a survivor and I want that to reflect in my wedding: I found the love that he said I never would, that he never wanted me to. I first defied his destruction and abuse by publishing "Spellbound by Fire" and "She Wasn't Allowed to Giggle." I now defy his control by loving and being loved and I will celebrate that on a day when he thought his destruction had depleted everything. It didn't. We continued on as a family. I continued on as a young scared girl grown up to be a woman unafraid to be who she is and to follow her dreams.

And follow her dreams she did. I got my first royalty payment from Smashwords this past week. It's only a small amount but it's the start to the dream of eventually being a full-time novelist. It's a great feeling to be making some money, if only a little, from my books. It's inspiring.

It's exactly what I have always wanted to do- write books, publish them, send out a message and make money from them. Life just keeps getting better.

 

By Lavinia Thompson