Abuse on the beach

I'm still thinking about what I witnessed on the beach Sunday. I was awakened by the terrified screams of a child. At first I was confused by the mother who was dragging the little girl by the arm. When she pulled her into the ocean the child was crying. The mother allowed her to scoot onto the raft she had carried with her. As soon as the child was safely on top the mother grabbed hold to the raft and flipped it over. The little girl was engulfed with water. When her head popped to the surface she was gagging and clutching at the raft. Crying out, she begged the woman to let her back onto the raft. This scene was played out over and over. At the same time I rose from my seat so did several others. The woman didn't seem to care that she was being 'called out' on the way she was behaving. When she realized someone was calling the police she headed toward her gear on the sand. The little girl followed her along with 3 other children. Before the police had arrived the woman had sped off. We all stood around dumbfounded and worried. What would become of that little girl? Why was this woman attempting to drown her? And the scary thought that continues to linger in my mind.........the crying child and the other 3 children were all of different nationalities.
Where they her children?
Where they kidnapped?
Is she a foster mother?
I don't want to think the woman on the beach was her mommy.................

There is a part in my book where I tell of a similar beach scene. Abuse much the same done to me by a man legally deemed to be my father.

Come Away With Me

Leaving on a plane today makes me think of when I was married. We traveled - know what I remember? Sitting beside him I could smell the fragrance of his cologne mixed with the smell of the newspaper he held mixed with the smell of the cabin filling with passengers. We were on a voyage and I knew he would hold my hand and the journey would be exciting and filled with 'new' experiences for me - things he had already seen but wanted to see again through my eyes. I miss him.

To Choose A New Name

 As I sit here I have had 4 last names and none of them belonged to me. For a very long time I had planned to change my last name to 'Giraffe.' Silly you might think, but I love giraffes, so why not? I knew a man who was born without a middle name. His parents chose to wait until he matured and decided for himself the name he wanted. When the decision was made, they paid to legally add the name he chose. That man was very kind to my brother so I chose to use his middle name (Jake) for my brother when writing our story, 'She Ain't My Sister.'
August 7th I will stand in a court room and have my last name legally changed. It won't be Giraffe as I had planned. It's a much, much better one! I'm so happy.