The names have been changed to protect the innocent. (and the guilty)

Facnana: The Mom.

Claims to be a Warrior Mom and Disabled Marine Veteran. She also claims to be dying of her wounds sustained in Afghanistan. She claims to have multiple college degrees including a Masters of Divinity from Seminary. She sells expensive Bibles and her own copyrighted Bible Study Plan to try to earn money for her expenses. More about Facnana later!

Brutus: The Dad.

He is an Army veteran who did at least one tour to Iraq. He has a bit of a checkered past with a short police record, but otherwise lives a fairly peaceful life, going to work daily, bringing home the bacon and helping care for his disabled wife, but otherwise, not interacting with too many people other than very close friends or family.

The Graduate: Eldest son.

He has graduated from high school and moved away. (Whew!!) I think he knows a lot of the drama that has taken place in his parents’ home, but he has escaped. I don’t really want to bring him into the discussion, so he won’t be discussed much unless he gets involved later.

Zestien: The Middle Child.

This courageous young person has done what many of us might not have been able to do, so pay attention to this part of the story; I promise it will get good!

Svena: The Youngest Child.

This one is a feral, wild, little Tasmanian Devil, though not ill-tempered most days, but uncontrollable at best. Svena has never had much discipline. Since the day Svena was born, Zestien has been Svena’s main caretaker as Facnana has been “disabled” since before she became pregnant with Svena. If Svena doesn’t get reigned in soon, this child may end up in prison.

The Church Ladies:

There are a group of ladies from our church (which will remain nameless) who were asked to reach out to Facnana and her family to see what we, as individuals, or us (as a church), could do to help meet Facnana’s family’s needs. This, however, is where all the trouble begins. As Christians, we are called to help those in need, feed the hungry, bind the wounds of the injured, visit those in prison, etc. We, as a church body, take these quite seriously. We have done all this and more, except the visiting Facnana in prison, simply because she isn’t there.

Yet.

The COTU: Me. The Author

I am a Gold Star Mom. What this means is, I have a child, a son, my ONLY son, who was Killed in Action while fighting in a war. He didn’t die in a car crash, he didn’t die of some horrible disease; he died from wounds sustained when he stepped on an IED. He literally saved the lives of his entire unit. More on HIM later. I’ll just tell you this: he was always the Champion of the Underdog. In school, he would defend those who were smaller than himself to keep the bullies from doing what bullies do. He became a Marine, Sergeant, Squad Leader, Sharp Shooter, all around good guy, so that he could help save our country from tyranny. I raised him. I, too, am a Champion for the Underdog. When we see injustices being done, we do our best to FIX them. That’s what this story is all about.

There should be a Super-Hero named COTU.

In our story today:

Zestien and Svena are our Underdogs. Facnana, as well as her husband, Brutus, are our Tyrants, Facnana more so that Brutus, as we, the Church Ladies and myself, are not really sure that Brutus even knows most of these crazy lies Facnana tells. Though he is not innocent of the atrocities that will be revealed in this story, he, we do not believe, is the instigator. Facnana is at least, a narcissistic; at best, a psychotic, pathological liar who could not tell the truth if you paid her a million bucks. Her stories all start with a dab of truth, you know, like how you start sour-dough bread with a bit of “starter”, but then it turns into huge loaves of bread, but as long as you keep a tiny bit of starter, you can continue to make more and more bread. These are the Days of our Lives … I mean, these are the Lies of our Days!

I was married to a narcissist for almost 17 years. Before that, my best friend from 6th grade through 11th grade was a narcissist. Because of being under the control of my school Narc, I didn’t make any other friends; she believed SHE was all I needed and was able to manipulate me in such a way that I simply didn’t make any friends. Narcissists always find a vulnerable person to control. My mom passed away when I was 7, so I yearned for a close companion to help take my mom’s place. My narc did that for a hot minute, then she continually stabbed me in the back. It was a lot for a kid, so I just went with the flow. When I changed schools my senior year, I began to meet people, people who were NOT AT ALL controlling and I began to make friends, but it was just “too much, too little too late, to ever start again,” as the old song says. A short 2-3 years later though, I met/married the Ex. Hubby Narc. The agony I went through, being a Christian and believing that divorce was the unpardonable sin, I didn’t dare divorce him, but it was either divorce him or “unalive” him (and spend the rest of my life in jail), although I prayed for HIM to “unalive” himself all day, every day, or I could “unalive” myself, however, that would mean that HE would get my children and I couldn’t do that to them, being the champion of the underdog (COTU) that I am. So when he threatened to “unalive” me and/or the kids, and let the cops “unalive” him, I called it quits. I feel justified in my decision, Biblically, but there is still some residual guilt that the devil throws at me from time to time, like an unruly monkey flings its poop, but I digress.

I’ve been around narcissists by now enough to recognize them sooner rather than later as a rule, but I think Facnana is at least a black-belt in narcissism, crossing over into the realm of the master psychopath, Queen of the wicked.

Stay with me and tell me you don’t agree when all is said and done.