Growing up I had two mothers until the age of 12 when my mother met my amazing step father. My mother’s were strong women. Feminists if you will. I remember clearly the magazine “Ms” and their demands that my little sister Megan and I were not allowed to play with Barbie dolls. According to our mother’s, they didn’t exemplify the strength woman had. Our mother’s and of course Grandmother, my aunts were and are all strong women. They women that surrounded my sister and I were the epitome of power. Teachers, home builders, chefs, basketball coaches, hairstylists, singers ; all wonderful. That’s all I knew. I was almost shocked to learn in highschool that their was something called a glass ceiling. Explained to me as a ceiling for women. They could only go so far.
Yeah right? Never occurred to me to even consider this rubbish to be true.
Women and men are both amazing. Dogs, cats, goats, flowers, i-phones. All pretty incredible. We are all incredible in our own way. Comparisons, are pointless in regards to humans, as we all sing our own songs.
This intro leads me to the volunteering I am so honored to be a part of at The Alexandria House in Los Angeles. Once again I am surrounded my women, all with stories, and all an inspiration to me. These incredible souls are sharing their story of how they got their power back to leave a bad awful situation. They share on film their stories of survival and the day that they said,” I am taking my life back”.
To the beautiful women that share their lives with me for a few hours, know I admire and respect you. I am proud of you.
If you are afraid for your life , or the lives of your children and feel trapped. You indeed are not. There are ways out of Hell. I know because I get to spend my Friday mornings with women that demanded their lives back and made it to safety. They gained the power to leave abuse and help others find their strength and voice.
http://www.joyfulheartfoundation.org
http://www.domsticabusecouncil.com
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