Originally Posted by
blessed2be 
You did the right thing by leaving. I can relate to your daughter asking when you were going to divorce him. I can remember being her age and asking my mother the same question. You did right by your children. My mother never left my Dad and I am 32 yrs old now...still dealing with the resentment of her never "protecting" me from my father.
Thanks so much for telling me that! The reason I stayed so long was because I thought I was actually protecting our children. Everyone kept telling me that sole custody was almost impossible to get, and I kept imagining my husband getting joint custody. I was terrified that he would drive them around while he was impaired. Our son is only 3, and my husband wouldn't be able to supervise him properly, either. He once told me he was taking our son to the backyard for a bit, but then ended up in the garage (his favourite place) and didn't even notice when our son crossed the street by himself. He was only 2 at the time.
Our daughter is 10, and started to "fight back" with her dad. My husband was livid and began treating her very badly.
I finally decided that enough was enough. My lawyer convinced me that I could get sole custody - and that's when I called the women's shelter. I knew it was time.