Published by Melinda Hull

I was never a “superhero” person. Not really a movie person at all…but, my Love is. I caught a preview for Wonder Woman while sitting with him one day, and something told me I needed to see it. I did. I cried. Not when Captain Trevor died in his blaze of glory. Not in the end when all was well and good prevailed. I cried when Diana ascended from the trenches to take the fire that others couldn’t. I cried because in that minute I was her, and she was me…despite my daughter looking at me like I was a three-headed fish, I lost myself in her courage and persistence. Her unwavering desire to fix what was broken. I have seen the movie 5 times now and still cry at that part. I cried when my mother-in-law gave me a Christmas ornament depicting that scene. I added it to my vision board.

Until September of this year, I felt I was battling alone. I was fighting against an adversary I did not understand. I was fighting against stigma, judgment, and trying to gather the pieces of broken dreams, determined to keep them all together. I was watching someone I love so dearly get sucked into a system, that doesn’t care about the truth. He was defeated. He hung his head. He took their plea. My hands were tied, but I wasn’t finished fighting. Standing there in a parking lot, surrounded by razor wire, watching him walk behind a brick wall that would separate us for the next few years, then driving 620 miles home, alone, would have not been bearable, had I not found SPWF.

I met Ro on YouTube 3 weeks before surrender. I can’t even say how much she has helped me, but I don’t need to. You all already know. Yes because, of her knowledge and compassion, but also for who she is in general. I am also a go-getter. I make things happen for myself. I am a whoo whoo, law of attraction, spiritual universe junky. Her girl power aura deeply resonated with me. Then I found the rest of her community. She wasn’t the only one. There are so many of you. Raging against the storm, spitting against the wind, and holding your own. Like a tribe of Amazonian women that won’t be defeated by darkness.

When we were children, we were always encouraged to find a group of “good friends.” Our parents wouldn’t want us to fall in with a “bad crowd”. Stigma begins early. Judgment is almost instinctual. Who would have known, the finest crowd, with the strongest character I’d ever encounter, would be a group supporting the “worst” of the bad crowds. Society is an interesting thing. The finest glass house on the highest mountain peak can shatter and fall in an instant. All you are left with is who you are inside. In 2018, I discovered that I am a warrior inside. SPWF has introduced me to many others like me, and that is a beautiful thing.

I am proud to be a member of a group of like-minded souls, who neither abandon what is right or weaken in adversity. Who stands beside those they love, and continue to fight injustice. I know if my back were against a wall, I’d want a prison wife fighting beside me. To all the wives and family members here, I wish you love and courage as we push on through the new year. In 2019, may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be safe, and may you know love and kindness. And may you find your inner Wonder Woman.