My First In Person Visit
When I say that I am excited that is an understatement. Last night I hardly slept. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. After three months, I finally get to see my girls. OMG! I am over the moon right now. There is so much I want to say and to talk about. I can't wait to hear about everything that has been going on in their lives. We have spoken over the phone and also had video calls every week since I got here, but we haven’t been able to have a real, in-depth conversation about much of anything. They are also interested to hear all of my prison stories. I just hope that I can remember them all because I have bad prison brain.
Everyone knows about my visit. I feel like my really close friends are just as excited as I am. Sadly, unless you are a local, you do not get a lot of visits. There are some ladies who are local and they have a visit almost every weekend. Initially, when I was sentenced, I was told that I would be going to West Virginia which is much closer to my home than I am now. Unfortunately, when I got designated that was not the case.
I remember when my old bunkie got her first visit from her family. I remember that she talked about it for weeks. She also spent a lot of time preparing for the visit. I didn't understand it then, but now I do. This week has been full of prep. My nails, hair, clothes, shoes, and jewelry have all been top priority for my visit. I think that it gives your family peace of mind when you look and feel good. I think it takes some of the concern away; not all of it, but some. At least they know that not only are you safe, but you are doing really well. That is why the prep is so important to me. I want my girls to feel good when they leave me. I want them to know that this was all worth it. I want them to be proud of me. This is a huge sacrifice for my family, so I want them to know that I am not just sitting here depressed and worried. I am using my time wisely and a part of that is practicing my self care. For the first time in a long time, I am spending a lot of time with me. And given the circumstances, I never thought I would say this...I feel really good about me. This is the best I have felt in a long, long time.
