As a little girl, my mother taught me to use a code word if I was in danger and couldn’t speak up
When I was a child, my mother taught me to use a secret code word if I ever felt uncomfortable or in danger. When I had a daughter, Amy, I passed this advice on to her, and we created our own code word.
One day, while Amy was visiting her dad, my ex-husband Dave, she used the code word—”blueberries”—during a phone call, which made my heart drop. I rushed to his house, fearing something was wrong. When I arrived, Dave seemed distant but agreed to let me pick up Amy early.
In the car, Amy tearfully explained that her dad had been yelling and slamming doors, which scared her. Later, I told Dave about the code word, and he was genuinely sorry for frightening our daughter. He explained that work stress had made him act out.
I was grateful that the code word my mom had given me years ago worked in a real-life situation to protect Amy. It’s a small piece of advice that proved to be incredibly valuable.
