What a day!

I am normally not the Debbie Downer type. Actually, I’m quite the contrary and have been ridiculed on occasion because I’m always so doggone cheerful and positive. However, today had a low point…I was cyber bullied.

I have a web site for my art work. Now I would never claim to be the greatest artist ever but I can draw one hell of a portrait and can create very good likenesses of people just from a photograph. However, I’m getting off topic now. Anyway, this morning I get a notification from my web site that someone had posted a comment in my guest book. Now being that everyone including me, likes a little ego boost once in a while, I had hoped that someone who follows me on Twitter or Facebook, had taken a moment out of their busy morning to say something nice to me. Boy was I wrong!

Not only was this post scathing and mean, it was full of personal insults, accusations and even a threat to expose all of my deep dark secrets. Hello? I searched my closet and to my despair, I couldn’t find any. Now, that post wasn’t enough. They followed it up with another one in all caps mind you, in which they were posing as yours truly, however putting a lovely twist on my name, (insert sarcasm) laden with horrible insults on everything from my weight to questioning my sanity. Let’s not forget the part about me being lazy and having nothing better to do then to talk “trash” about other people.

Number one, I immediately felt ill because I’m in the process of upgrading my entire life. I’ve finally set my feet on the path to becoming an author and have finished my first novel. I finally have my daughter and granddaughter back with me after two and a half years of only seeing them six times a year if I’m lucky because my son-in law is in the NAVY. My oldest son just left again to head back out on a submarine and my youngest is the drum major for his high school marching band. In other words, my life is quite full and my cup runneth over as they say.

So I asked myself, “Why me? Why would some random person want to hurt me so badly?”

Then it hit me that this wasn’t random at all. The wording was too familiar. Why would they reference my husband? I’ve never gone out of my way to hurt anyone in my entire life but there is someone who over the years has made it a hobby to out of thin air, want to cause me pain. So, the Curious George in me decided to reply to these evil posts as the site admin and stated that I had reported the posts to the web site company (which I did) and that they had the reporting data (which they do) which plainly shows where the posts originated from and the ip address of the computer from which they were made. Can you say BUSTED?

Well, without hesitation, this person replied yet again! Even after all of these years, the predictability is so tantalizingly good! She took the bait and basically admitted who it was (without of course giving her real name because that would take actual balls) and I replied one last time to simply say, “I knew it was you. Thank you for confirming. Why you suddenly feel the need to attack me and try to slander me out of the blue is
beyond me. However, this is my final reply.”

Sad to report that most likely, based on all of the evidence, I did know this person in the past, although we never actually were friends or had what I would call a relationship. Not that I didn’t try, I REALLY tried but jealousy, lies, betrayal and deceit is a big turn off for me and there was plenty to go around from this person and not only directed at me but the majority of it was. I actually only confronted her once. It was Thanksgiving. It didn’t end well and my husband, my children and myself ended up having to leave before dinner was served. Needless to say we have never eaten out on Thanksgiving since unless I prepare a meal at home as well which trust me, is a lot of damn work! Besides that, I have put on a few pounds and I don’t think my husband would appreciate having to carry me out of his aunts house kicking and screaming again anytime soon.

Well, I did report this to the web company and they have turned it over to their legal department. I will also be contacting the cyber crimes unit of our local police tomorrow and turning over the evidence that I have.

I think I’ve had enough.

Once I stopped shaking and retching, I ate lunch and moved on. I did however have to also report this to the family elders which is much worse than even the cyber cops. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. I’m pretty sure she finally stepped in the shit pile. You can’t go through life hurting people over and over again and not think that eventually you’re going to step over that line and get caught. Well, I suppose maniacal sociopath’s can but I’m not calling anyone a name here. I’m speaking hypothetically, right?

The rest of the day was filled with the amazing love of my granddaughter, watching my youngest son lead the high school marching band onto the field at half time and then giving my granddaughter a bubble bath and watching her fall asleep next to me on the sofa.

So you see? People will try to hurt you and disrupt your life but even if you let it in for a few minutes, just long enough to deal with it and then move on, at the end of the day there may be golden haired princesses, bubbles and marching bands as a reward for all your troubles.

I am so blessed.