(12/13) “John always makes fun of me. He says: ‘Mom, try a little humility. You can&rsqu
(12/13) “John always makes fun of me. He says: ‘Mom, try a little humility. You can’t just put the letter ‘V’ on a billboard. And don’t put your initials on the license plate of the Porsche.’ But he doesn’t understand how real estate works. It’s good to have humility, but you can’t be a mouse hiding under the rug. Nobody talks about the mouse under the rug. Nobody wants to list their house with the mouse. They want to list their house with the boss lady. Since I began ten years ago, I’ve had nearly $500 million in sales. Four of the past five years, I’ve been the number one real estate agent in Augusta. I finally paid off our house, and since then I’ve bought eight more houses. I’ve put all my kids through private school. I’ve paid for all their sports, all their activities. My oldest daughter Julia was a state championship gymnast. I hired the best coaches. I took her to all the meets. She’s twenty-four now, and she’s doing well. She’s got a good job as an accountant. But a few months ago she came to the house, and she was so angry with me. She told me that she’d been having flashbacks. Of things Tripp had done. She said: ‘You abused me too. By staying in the marriage.’ I was devastated. A few months later she apologized. She said: ‘Mom, forgive me, you were the best.’ But she was right the first time. I should have left. I thought I was doing the right thing, by trying to make it work. I just wanted to be a good mom. I never had a family. I wanted my kids to have a family. I’ve got scrapbooks. Detailed books, of every little thing they ever did. I had photos taken every three months, because I never wanted to forget any of it. I cherished every single thing. Recently I ran into John’s old kindergarten teacher. She told me: ‘Venus, I never knew a mother as involved as you. You were at every event. His hair was always combed perfectly. His lunch was different every day.’ I really tried my best. To give them everything I never had. All I do is work and spend time with my kids. But sometimes it feels like it doesn’t matter what I do anymore. It doesn’t matter what I buy. I failed my children. Because I should have left. I failed at the most important thing.” -- source link