 "And they lived happily ever after". WRONG!!!
The young bride of eighteen and the groom of twenty were beginning an exciting journey together. They didn't care if they only had a twelve-dollar refrigerator, a makeshift stereo system for the two hundred plus LP album collection, and a bed propped up by bricks. They were going to conquer the world. Carol and her new husband were on their way pursuing the dream of building their own business. They had a strategy and the goal was to be financially independent by the time they reached their forties. They both worked full time and went to jr. college two nights a week. The strategy was to live on his paycheck and build up a savings account with Carol's to buy equipment for the business. For three years they worked and scrimped and moved forward. The most fulfilling desire of Carol's heart was to be a mother and after three years of marriage she gave birth to their first son. Their agreement was that she would not work outside the home after they started a family. She quit work and ran their small business out of their home while he worked two full time jobs. Two years later their second son was born and four years later their third son was born. They worked hard and made many personal sacrifices to achieve their dream. Carol's third son was diagnosed with serious learning disabilities at five years of age. Because they had a fairly successful business by then, she was able to get special tutors for him which eventually enabled him to attend the special-ed classes in Jr. High and High School. Carol's main focus was her husband and children. Life was good. The expertise her husband had as a sound recording engineer was the key to the success of their business. Regretfully, he became arrogant and prideful and would make statements that were demeaning and hurtful to those closest to him. Yes, the goal was reached, Carol and her husband were financially independent by their forties. They appeared to be the perfect family. Their children were polite and taught discipline and integrity even though their father had his issues. They were taught to always give 110% to whatever you are doing. Always do your best and honor your word. Keep your commitments. If they joined a sports team they understood they had to be at all the practices and games no matter what other opportunities came their way. They were part of a team and they couldn't let them down. To this day, they honor those principles. The opportunity to get into the oil business was presented to her husband. Carol was reluctant to invest but they agreed to a specific amount to risk. Then the dream ended and the nightmare began. Her husband was diagnosed with cancer and he passed away at the age of 44. Carol was a widow at 42. This was not the script for her life that she imagined. Although she was the production manager of their business and had signing privileges on the checks, she had very little to do with the business end of the company. After her husband passed away she became aware of some unwise business decisions that he had made. She discovered that he had spent $750,000.00 in the oil wells and had not told her. The combination of the unwise business decisions and the $750,000 in the oil wells, resulted in the loss of the business, their home, cars, bank accounts and savings. She was left with her clothes, a car and a baby grand piano. Their family was strong and her sons were tremendous supports. When their father passed away, her youngest son put his arm around her and said, "Don't worry mom, we'll take care of you". During the months that followed his death, there were many things that were disclosed that Carol had no knowledge of. The lawyers had many questions that she could not answer. But a long time friend and business associate of her husband's was able to answer all the questions. But he would only answer them if she were present. Carol felt a great sense of betrayal after the disclosures but never let it defeat her. The results of these disclosures left her in a position where she could not own anything or work. If she worked the IRS could attach any wages over $500.00 . In time a wonderful man came into her life, Ron Morris. He was a source of wisdom and strength through many hard days. They married and not only combined their families but he purchased some of the equipment from her business and combined their business interests. He has become her greatest fan, and most enthusiastic cheerleader. He is not threatened by her strengths and overlooks most of her weaknesses. It's because of him that she has had the courage to pursue new challenges. After thirty- five years in the business world, Carol wanted to turn her focus on women that were trapped in the "crisis'" of life. She became a mentor, counselor, and teacher as a result of the challenges that life had presented to her. She took advantage of opportunities to further her education in counseling and post trauma stress syndrome. The doors for teaching just kept opening for her. She taught seminars for women married to men with sexual addictions and pornography, as well as women with pornographic and sexual addictions. These experiences left her with a great concern for our young girls. One of the young women who was a sexual addict commanded the attention of the entire class when she talked about the "thrill of the chase, the pride in her conquests", until she contracted HIV, aids. She has since passed away. Through her many encounters with men and women Carol has gained a solid understanding of the serious issues men, women and children face in today's society. As a young girl she dreamed of traveling the world. In 1994 her dreams started to become a reality. She started speaking in far away places that included Sri Lanka, India, New Zealand, Tasmania, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, Australia, as well as retreats and conferences in England, Wales, Norway and Kiev in the Ukraine. Instead of just complaining about the perception of women today, Carol stepped out and for the last ten years has been speaking and teaching on men's and women's issues. Because of the challenges and struggles she went through, Carol felt she could encourage others to persevere and go on. She often uses the phrase, "The stones of life that are thrown at you can either become the walls of the tomb to bury you or the stones to build a pathway to a better future". It's our choice. We can take on the "victim" mentality or the "victor" mentality. Once again, it's a choice. Carol's passion is to see value and respect for women return to our society. Yet, the greatest fulfillment would be to see the value of women birthed around the world. Young men taught how to value young girls and young girls to respect young men who should be a source of safety not harm. Young as well as older women should be valued and inspire admiration. The goal of Carol's passion is to restore respect, values, integrity, and moral character in our society and perhaps have a small influence worldwide. The desire of Carol's heart is to reach the women that are neither feminists or right wing, they're the women in the middle of our society, that don't have a voice and encourage them to step out and make a difference in their homes, neighborhoods, schools, city, state, and nation. The image of women has been so distorted that they are a mere shadow of what could be. Our young girls and women alike, are drowning in a sea of confusion. A woman should inspire awe and admiration, but the media promotes the image of a seducing woman that stirs the barbarian urges in a man. This is Carol's mission. She wants women to recognized their value and influence in our society and realize what a privilege it is to be a woman. The influence of real women, women of integrity, principled, with moral character should be the role models for our girls and young women. They need to understand that a woman can be strong without being hard, defined without being rigid, and feminine without being weak. Carol is convinced that she can impart these truths to other women who will catch the vision and join her. Because of her life's experiences, she can identify with fear of rejection, poor self-image, hopelessness, desperation, and the courage it takes to face circumstances and go through them to a beautiful future. She's been there, and done that, and is always moving forward. She understands how important it is to realize if you live in the past, you have no future. Don't remain a victim. Get on with the opportunities that await you. Although Carol experienced betrayal, total loss, humiliation and hopelessness, she didn't give up. She persevered and pressed through with the support of family and friends. It is her desire to bring that hope to others. In 2001 Carol and Ron made a major decision to sell their home and relocate in Colorado. This was a major step for her since she had lived in southern California for over fifty years and her family was there. Although her role of mother and parent had changed, her mother's heart will always bare the concerns and hopes of her children. No matter what their age, they will always be her children. This presented a new challenge and adventure in her mind and they sold their home. For the next ten months they live in a hotel because they couldn't find the right home. During this time Ron kept prompting her to write her concerns in a book to women. Carol was totally overwhelmed by this suggestion and told him that she couldn't write a book. But he came back with a challenge, "sit down and write what ever comes into your mind and see what happens". There they were in a hotel room with only a bed, chair and writing desk. She began writing and wrote for a solid two hours. The thoughts were coming so fast that she could barely write them fast enough. Ron just smiled as her observed the event. When she stopped he said, "See, I told you so, you can write a book". This was the beginning of a new chapter in both Carol and Ron's lives. The book took two years to research and finish and is now available. The title of the book is, "Womanhood: Fabulous, Fascinating, and Feminine". In June of 2002 they found their home and now reside outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Within two years her son's family moved to Colorado Springs. Although Ron hold's the first place in her, their grand children hold the second place. The greatest pleasure for Carol is to spend time with their grandchildren to see their smiling faces and hear their laughter. Although their family is priority in their lives, Ron supports Carol in her mission. Her focus now is to get this message out to every state in our nation and perhaps internationally. All women need to realize their value and the importance of their influence in our world. Carol won't sit by and do nothing while watching the deception of our young women through the fantasies of disillusioned, miserable old women. Her motto is, " NOT ON MY WATCH!" | 
