It was an un-noteworthy Thursday, with the exception of having several internal promptings to not stay at my house that evening. Normally I follow my intuition without much question because it’s always guiding me to good things, but for some reason on this day I let my ego get in the way. I reached out [...]
Public Safety Factor
You may recall we were shocked and blindsided when we received Travis’s designation to Rochester FMC as we had been anticipating him to be placed at Yankton Prison Camp. You can read more about the designation process and experience here. From what we were able to discern before Travis began his sentence, we believed Travis [...]
You’re Saying I’ve Got a Chance
I was thankful when Travis initially told me he was in with a good group of guys, but this group of guys were going to be an enormous asset to Travis time and again. He had mentioned they were very knowledgeable in prison policy and law, but what this might mean for his future wasn’t [...]
The First Call
It was Thursday. My first full day as a wife of an incarcerated prisoner. As I walked through the dining room to the kitchen for a cup of coffee that morning, I saw Trav’s phone and wallet. I picked the wallet up and held it close to my chest and took pause. For a brief [...]
The Drop Off
How do you prepare yourself to drop your loved one off at prison? How do you spend your last few days together? What do you say, or how can you offer them encouragement? I knew the emotions I was feeling, but I couldn’t imagine the emotions he was feeling. In the days leading up to [...]
Government Retired
In my first 10 years of employment in the state’s criminal justice system, it had become a dream of mine to work as a federal employee. I had my sights set on federal probation. The workloads were more tolerable, the pay was better, and you were protected by the ability to carry a firearm rather [...]
Poisonous Propaganda, Poisonous Food
The holidays passed us by in an easy, peaceful way. We were able to remain present, enjoy each moment, and somehow set aside the reality of what the new year was bringing us. With that being said though, the holidays were not very holiday-ish. No décor, no tree, only one holiday party, no presents, no [...]
To Have & To Hold
Marrying a felon who is about to serve 18 months of incarceration while sharing intimate details of your relationship with the entire world is likely a relationship death sentence. Especially when you stack the statistics of a second marriage on top of it. I did it anyway and have never felt more sure and aligned [...]
Shadow of Doubt
Looking outside mainstream media proved lucrative in finding additional information, plenty of information, casting more than a shadow of a doubt about the government’s activities. And when it comes to big tech companies, who is running what? Are the tech companies running themselves or was the government calling the shots? Or was it somewhere in [...]
The Reckoning
Real life requires real talk. The old me would not have had the courage to share not only this journey, but the lowest of lows along the journey. Today I share these details to inspire: inspire hope for your own healing, to demonstrate the reality of what is possible when we choose ourselves day after [...]