Dance Through Trauma

June 13, 2022

On June 11, a man knocked on our door, and handed my mom court papers after she opened the door. The court papers stated that Ovidio had demanded child custody for my siblings. His plan is to have the kids live with him and that they can visit mom during the weekends or so. Ovidio added lies on the court papers stating that my mom is verbally abusive and unfit to take care of my siblings, which is a huge lie. He also stated that my mom moves from place to place, putting the kids in danger, as if she hasn't lived with him 80% of the time since 2017. The verbal abuse he is claiming on the papers is the yelling and arguments against him by my mom over the cheating stuff and the past abuse, and how he abused her and the kids just to leave the house to sleep with a prostitute. Yelling at someone isn't abuse if it's for a decent reason. That's a natural response coming out of my mom, who is a victim of domestic violence. Is she supposed to treat a man with love who abused her and cheated on her after accusing her of cheating with no evidence? No! Yelling and arguing isn't abuse if it's for a good reason. If he has any videos of my mom yelling, he will try to twist the context of the videos or lie about it, but God won't let that happen. I prayed for us to win this case, and my co-worker Joe prayed for us too. My dad and his church prayed for us too in a group prayer. I put my full trust in God that we will win with the TRUTH. The truth will prevail, and the lies will be exposed. The amount of evidence that we have is enough to win the case against what Ovidio claims as "verbal abuse." He probably recorded my mom yelling at my brother Damian or spanking him, but that isn't abuse. The yelling about Damian can be very frustrating to handle for my mom herself. If she spanks him, it's because Damian is seriously out of control, but spanking doesn't work on him anyway. It's so hard dealing with him that sometimes as a parent with a child with ADHD, we make mistakes. Spanking is acceptable in the Hispanic culture and is widely used as a form of discipline in our culture. It doesn't work on Damian, but he really can provoke the anger out of anyone with his behavior. Not even his teachers were able to handle him at school. They always had an angry face when my mom came to pick him up. He's a difficult child. Spanking isn't illegal in the United States as of 2022, and it shouldn't be because I do think kids sometimes need spanking as that actually stops them from doing something bad from what I've seen myself. My mom isn't a perfect parent, and no one is, and I've applied that to Ovidio as well, but the difference is that my mom can admit and accept that she did something wrong, and actually shows genuine love for my siblings. Ovidio denies everything wrong he does, and plays the victim and saint. He seriously is a narcissist. After we win, I just pray to God that nothing happens to us. So, for now, we're on the look for a lawyer. My mom this morning has been in contact with a legal aid program of Southern Missouri. We will see what happens after. I'm just worried that I won't have enough money to pay the lawyers. My dad can send me 200$ or so per month to help us, but what if that isn't enough as well? My mom will get social security for my brother Ovi as he was recently approved. It may take some time for the money to arrive, but we were approved! That money can also help us financially. However, I will try not to worry because I will put my full faith in God. God's truth will beat Satan's lies.

- June 13, 2022