A little Good

Thus far, my posts have been all about the bad and trust me I have a lot more bad to share, tonight however I'd like to share my sliver of good.

For the first month I  was in jail I lived in a terrible pod. It was loud, there were women that were going to be there a VERY long time. There were 3 inmates stuffed into cells barely big enough for 2. There were fights everyday both inside the cells and out in the day room, this meant that I spent all but an hour or two in my cell, it was just terrible. It was hard to breathe inside the cell and you couldn't move without stepping on someone. I cried almost all day every day, certain I would never make it 10.5 months.

Things changed though, and after being at RRJ for about a month they opened a new, much smaller, minimum security pod and I was lucky enough to be reclassified and moved over there. Bravo One, that was my new pod. And compared to where I'd been this seemed like paradise. Everyone in there had a good, clean behaviour record and there were about half the number of inmates living in this pod.

Because of the size of the pod and the minimum security level, we were given more time out of our cells...six hours on a good day! Compared to 1 or 2 that was nice. Being out with about 25 people allowed you the opportunity to talk and get to know the people living around you. And what I learned is that there are alot of great people who end up in jail. Sometimes they end up there because they're addicted to drugs and no one will help them. Others end up there because they've made bad choices and stolen money or goods, often to help their families and make a bad choice to help them. Others sold themselves to make ends meet. At the end of the day, these women unlike the ones in my first stop, knew they'd done wrong and knew they had to pay for their crimes. Most of us had children and husband's and ached to be back with them.

During my time with these women, I found liked some more than others and was able to really get to know them. They helped make the worst days of my life just a little brighter. They helped me laugh, comforted me when I cried and always made sure I had something to eat(because they knew I never ate the meal trays). I am so thankful that I met these ladies, you know who you are, and thank you <3.

After leaving RRJ, I've been able to keep up with a small handful of ladies I spent those days with. I love watching them in there daily lives with their families that they missed so much while we were together. I am very proud of those I was in there with that were addicted to drugs and have been able to stay clean on the outside, seeing them defeat their demons daily is amazing. They're so strong and I truly love you guys.

Through all of the dark there was a little light. I am happy that I can share this part of my story. Next time I think I'll share all about my jail house diet.