We walked in, tired, scared, and broken. There was a peace there that we hadn't felt in years.

"Christmas was approaching and my anxiety was increasing day by day, just like all the other years since I met my ex-husband. He was always worse around Christmas, his temper was very short. Besides all the Christmas stress, I spent a lot of time trying to keep the peace and prevent it from exploding. It had been like this for so many years. Christmas was not a good time, not a celebration of light and peace. But I always tried to persevere, thinking about keeping everything good because it would be so sad for our boys if everything exploded before or during the holidays.

Then another Christmas came, the boys were all steel and my family and I were coming home from a skate trip. The boys started to poop in the back seat and my ex completely lost his mind. He drove like a madman and when I protested he elbowed me in the ribs step by step the next time we stopped at a red light. He screamed and screamed. The three of us were frozen with fear and I was dying from the pain from the elbows. We got home, I don't know how. I was completely numb and couldn't think.

I called my sister who ended up coming to pick me and the boys up. She drove us to the Women's Shelter. The situation I had worked so hard to prevent was coming true. My boys and I sometimes recall when we walked through the doors of the Women's Shelter. Everything was in full swing with Christmas preparations but so quiet and lovely. Candlelight, a Christmas tree with lots of presents under it. We were invited to have a snack and shown to our room. We managed to fall asleep, all exhausted after this crazy turn of events. The next day was Christmas Eve. We slept in and rocked out until Christmas rang in. Then dinner was called and a real feast awaited us, delicious food cooked by a master chef who offered his staff that evening. After the meal, packages were opened, we all received many Christmas presents as if they had been planned for us all along.

"We will never forget that Christmas. Sometimes my boys and I look back on it and they say it was their first best Christmas. What I feared and avoided all these years turned out to be our lucky break."

Although the story is full of pain, it shows how important it is to have a refuge where women and children feel safe instead of afraid, and it is made possible thanks to the support of the Friends of the Women's Shelter who sponsor our monthly activities.