Mother Hen

 

I read a blog called Chickens In The Road. It’s written by a kind, generous lady in West Virginia named Suzanne McMinn. She’s built a great community there. She’s big on independent living skills, cheese making, canning, bread making etc, and had to relocate her farm late last year so she is starting anew, working her tail off to build a commercial kitchen so she can offer workshops on her farm again. If you’re interested (her bread recipe is the ONLY one that works reliably in my kitchen) keep an eye on her because she’s just finished funding her kitchen and I believe she’ll be offering workshops in a few months. She’s also a columnist with the Charleston Daily Mail and in a past life was a successful Romance author with 20+ books under her belt.

Today she made a post exposing just how little joy her life has had for the past few years. What really got to me was this line:

“…I was afraid he was going to destroy me from the inside out. It was writing this website, ironically the same thing he used against me to mock me, that at the same time saved me. Every day, I got up with a mission to write perky, positive, informative, inspiring posts. I wanted someone to live the good life–even if that someone couldn’t be me.”

My hat’s off to her, because she succeeded.

The comments are absolutely flooded with women saying me too, I’ve been there, giving little glimpses into the hell that their lives have also been. It astounds me at how many of us just duck our heads and endure. Suzanne left, and he still torments her, the jerk went to their old farm and stole the stove that was donated to her commercial kitchen. She’s not a fainting violet, when someone stole her work she went after them and got what she deserved. I believe she’s pursuing the theft of the stove through legal channels, but who knows what he’ll be inspired to do next. I’m sure this isn’t the only thing he’s done to her since she left, but I hope it’s the last.

She’s never heard of this blog, and wouldn’t connect it to the name I use there, but I am asking that you go to her site, look around, read her posts, and if you have anything to say that you add your voices to her comments. She could use the support, and maybe a more aggressive perspective would help him think before he does something else.

Update: She recovered her stove, but I don’t believe he’s done with her yet. Jerk. I feel fairly confident in saying that some advice on cheap ways to secure her house and farm would be appreciated. They would have to be cheap, cause like most farmers she’s flat broke.