Hello Friends, here it is August and I still have not shared my 2024 word of the year. It is not because I did not have one. It was because I was not sure how to share the why I decided on the word COURAGE.
April of 2023 two police officers were murdered a half mile from my house. It was a terrible day for our village and rural community.
I shared the story here .. I titled my post .. Courage, Dear Heart
Our Village was down an officer and the neighboring community was down an officer. Because of the situation many officers needed time off after witnessing the death of two officers. It was a very difficult time for our local police departments. We were shorted staffed.. in fact as I type this we are still short staffed for law enforcement in our village and county.
In May our next door neighbors daughter had her boyfriend move in with her. As I was working out in my front gardens, he started to watch me. He would say comments across the way to me. One morning as I was setting up my flower stand, he approached me from behind, he introduced himself and started to say how lucky my husband was to have me. I finished setting up my stand and went to put my sign up on our main street of our village. As I was walking back, he showed me his genitals.
I was sick to my stomach by the time I got into the house.
The next day, he did it again.
The next day he came up to my house and started to tap on my windows and peeping in.
He started to sit at the end of his driveway and stare into our dinning room window. He again showed me his genitals.
Yes, I went to the police. Yes, they were helpful and would do what they could to help me. They also wanted to be honest with me and shared with me, "we are shorted staffed." In the meantime the police ask that I start a journal. I should record the dates and times this man bothered me, what he did, said and so on.
May - June of 2023
I no longer worked out in my front gardens unless my husband was home.
I kept all our curtains closed that looked out at that neighbor.
I changed the hours of opening my flower stand, so I had my other neighbor to watch out for me.
My friends and family rallied around me.
July came and he was gone.
He robbed a convenience store, beat up the cashier, made threats with a gun and took off. Thank goodness he was caught.. he already had a record. As I type this he is in prison.
He was gone. But I was not alright.
I was unsettled. I did not feel comfortable being alone anymore. I did not like to talk to anyone I did not know. I was tired of all the evil in the world. And asked over and over... WHY?
And so when 2024 came along... I decided courage would be my word for the year.
Past word's of the year...
2022 Sunshine
2023 Truth
2024 Courage
Courage n. fearlessness valor brave fearless
And that brings me to Ernie. If you are a regular reader of The River, you know we adopted a rescue dog in October of 2023. After the situation of what happened May - June, I started to want another dog. Our dog Molly passed in 2018, she was 13 years old. We were not sure if we wanted another dog. After all this happened, I wanted a buddy to be with me at home, in the garden, on my walks ( I no longer wanted to walk alone) ... to be my best friend.
This world is ugly. It is mean and cruel. I still ask the "WHY"?
I am thankful for family.
I am thankful for friends.
I am thankful for the beauty of my garden, nature and the good I do see.
♥
Carla
Oh Carla, consider yourself hugged by me! I’m sorry this was going on. How creepy and evil. I can certainly understand how that would make you feel. You were violated! Have you gone for any counseling or gotten any support?
ReplyDeleteSo glad he’s out of the picture. Just terrible.
I forgot to add, I’m so glad you have your little buddy, Ernie now by your side!
ReplyDeleteGod bless
Oh Carla, I am so sorry this happened to you. And with Courage being your word for the year, I have to say that you have COURAGE for telling your story. I mentioned to you before that I had a bad neighbor too, and he would verbally say shocking and mean things, but never harmed me, as he knew I had family close by. What your neighbor did was scary, and it must still be haunting for you at times. So glad you have Ernie now to be there for you in your garden and on walks. And please know you are loved by so many of your blog friends, Carla.
ReplyDelete~Sheri
Oh my GOSH!!! I cannot imagine how you felt, and must still feel. Just reading this has brought me to tears. I feel so badly for you. And am so glad he is in jail! On the other subject...this week I have been thinking how hard it must be for police to stop a car and have to walk up to it. They never know what they may see, even the end of a gun.
ReplyDeleteOh, I can only imagine how scary and awful that must have been. I'm sorry for that bad time - and so glad he was caught for something. Yuck!
ReplyDeleteI am so sad. My heart aches for what you have been through. I am so sorry you had to go through this terrible act of his. I am so glad that he is now in prison. I can understand why you chose Courage. I am so glad you have Ernie. (((HUGS)) Take Care and God Bless You.....
ReplyDeleteCarla.....as I sit here reading this post...I am filled with anger, concern for you and sadness for what you have experienced. This is a whole lot for you to have experienced and to deal with. I am also thankful that God protected you from what could have resulted in a different outcome. Courage is a great word, although I feel like you have in some ways already shown a whole lot of courage. My anger comes from having to deal with such sick people in this world. Also, because our laws should protect us enough for him to have been arrested immediately. Bless you and I will pray for God's protection to surround you and give you the strength you need to feel safe.
ReplyDeleteOh Carla I am so sorry to read this. I would be afraid too if this happened to me. Before I met Bob I was in a bad relationship. When I decided to let him move in with me he became verbally abusive to both me, my children and family. It got worse when he drank and he even punched me in the nose once. I called the police on him and eventually got him to move out. However he continued to drive by and even kept calling me at my work. Just this year someone told me he had died in 2021. For 12 years I worried he was following me or Bob. It was pathetic, but very scary for me too. I was actually relieved he was gone even though I know in my heart I should not be like that. Glad your stalker is in prison and you have some peace as well. Courage is a very good word of the year and so fitting. We all need courage in our life. Thank you for writing this post. It gave me the courage to say to you what had happened to me. Janice
ReplyDeleteOh Carla my heart is so sad with knowing this happened to you. It violates are very soul. You love your garden and flower shack and for this sick person to take that from you makes me angry and sickened. Our homes are our sanctuary and we should always feel safe I have grand children now and I know you will to some day and it is so worrisome to think of the world they are growing up in. I remember riding my bike until dark and when the porch light came on that meant it was time to go in. We felt so innocent and safe. Now our young people cannot even walk to school alone. I pray things start to turn around and we can feel safe and secure and happy to live life. I am so happy you have Ernie. Love you girlfriend and hope you can get to a better place knowing he is in prison where that animal belongs. Big hugs. Kris.
ReplyDeleteHow absolutely horrible. I'm so sorry for all of it and am thankful he was caught and arrested. This world is full of so much evil and it's sad. I had a 'stalker' I guess you'd call it, when I was in college. It is completely unsettling and takes a lot of time to recover and feel like yourself again. I have found when I choose a word the circumstances of my life require it or demonstrate the need for it in some way. Take care and I hope you are able to relax in your own spaces now.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry you had to go through that awfulness. I'm glad it's over but I know the trauma can stay with a person. I'm thankful you have Ernie and a strong support system. I'm always here if you need me! xo
ReplyDeleteMy dear friend, I am so sorry this person came into your life and tried to ruin it. I know how hard it is to overcome being scared by someone or something. I am praying that you can put it aside and put positive thoughts in your mind each and every day. I know how much your husband and boys care for you and I know it must be really hard on them too. Courage...this will be our motto for the months to come. And relying on God makes all the difference. I am very proud of you. Take care of yourself and be kind to yourself in the weeks to come. Sweet hugs, Diane
ReplyDeleteOh Carla! Carla my dear friend this made me cry! HOW did you endure the abuse from that horrible person? Jeremy must have been going out of his mind! I'm surprised he didn't go over there and take that guy out! (Of course that would have been a foolish thing to do, but still) ... and what a DOLT you have for a neighbor!!!!! How dumb and gormless can the women be who cast their lot with men like this! Ugh it makes me so mad. And the police could not HELP you? I'm just terrified for you, in retrospect, to think what you went through. He is where he belongs and I hope he stays there for a very long time. I said a special prayer for you today, that God would guide and comfort you when the fearful thoughts come. Let not your heart be troubled! Sending you a hug today, my friend. xoxo
ReplyDeleteCarla, think Courage was a great word choice. I can not imagine having that kind of ugly happen. In our small Wisconsin communities, you would think we would be safe from such ugliness, but sadly that isn't the case. I am glad you found Ernie to help you through and to be your best friend!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I love the July's calendar photo!