A Minute of Fun

Now that we are back home and settled in I can actually write about our experiences visiting. When you are in the middle of some things it is just too hard to write about them without adding a bunch of emotion or something!

We got to visit Micah for about 12 hours every weekend for four weekends. It was glorious to see him, and feel him and talk to him. I was so amazed at how we just fell right into family roles as soon as we were together. One of the worries when Micah went to prison so young was that he would grow up too soon.

Well no worries about that one! I am very happy to report he is still the same joky jokster and big teddy bear Micah! From throwing a fit while we played Trouble to chasing his little sister around the visitor yard to being able to finish off $30.00 worth of vending machine junk food he was 100% himself.

He is open to visits now, you can all cut loose. He has eight hours one day on the weekends and four hours on one other day. It is so great to see him and enjoy his sense of humor for awhile. Sure makes you grateful for your life however awful it may seem at the moment. There is nothing like visiting an inmate to put your problems in perspective.

When we went on the last day to visit I planned to take a few pictures of the prison to post here. By the time I tore myself away from him, knowing I would not see him for another 13 months and hating that place more than anything in the world I told hubby, "put that camera away, I don't ever want to see this place again in my life".

In a short 13 months Micah will be saying the same thing!

Excellent Article

In talking with a visitor and Micah this past weekend I was made aware that I had not shared the following link. This is an article Micah has written telling just a little about his experience. Hopefully it will convince others to make good choices.

Next week I will be posting pictures and stories about our experiences visiting Micah. Our last visit will be Saturday morning :(. It has been awesome to visit with him every weekend and get to know our son again. The best part is we still love him a ton and think he is awesome!

Enjoy this article.

http://www.askthejudge.info/lessons-from-a-teen-prison-inmate/10424/

New Address Earned

Sorry I did not post immediately after our weekend visit with Micah, too many emotions to deal with.

It was the best feeling in the world to have my baby boy grab me up in his humonous arms and give me the biggest hug ever! He is guapo as always and looking so healthy and ready to get out.

A few notes for those planning to visit. The first and most important thing is to call and make sure you are on his visitor list. We were sure everything was good on this point and thank goodness I called a couple of days before to double check. Sure enough baby was not on his list. That all translated to many phone calls and visits from him to his councilor to get a "special" visit for baby to come for the next three weekends.

The next note is you cannot wear anything sleeveless to visit. My blouse was not really a tank top or thin strap but it was sleeveless enough that I ended up wearing a really hot sweatshirt of hubby's that was thank goodness in the car for the entire eight hour visit. That meant when we went outside so he could smoke the cigars his dad brought him and it was 104 I was extremely hot!

Next note is do not wear an underwire bra! If you beep you will not be allowed to pass and you cannot just go out and take off the bra, you must keep on your undergarments at all times? Not sure if they would check on this one or not but I would surely not want to risk it.

And the $30.00 worth of quarters for the vending machine, yes he used every last one of them. It was actually a bit gross but he managed to eat so much grossness I actually felt a little sick just watching him :)

You can note the new address to the right. He is now in Eagle Point rather than Barchey, thank God. He is also working for Rio Salada college as the clerk there at Eagle Point. He actually earned his way to Eagle Point with good boy points and it is the best place for him. You must have less than five years on your sentence and they are all preparing to leave, so they are super chill.

It is so exciting to think that next year when we come to visit we will be taking Micah home!