A day in the life of an inmate isn’t too sensational. Many people are curious about what it’s like so let’s dive into some of the day to day basics. Travis originally started out assigned to a bunk in an open dorm-style housing area which housed 60 people. During his time in this space it […]
Tag Archives: trauma
The First Letter
During the first few weeks of Travis’s sentence, we were spoiled with regular phone calls. Some weekends he would even call for 45 minutes (3 separate 15 minute calls). It was such a blessing as we transitioned to this new and temporary normal for his time away. (I constantly tell myself this is all temporary […]
You Deleted Your Account
On another un-noteworthy Thursday night, I drifted off to sleep. It was just a week or so earlier that I had reclaimed my ability to sleep peacefully throughout the night without waking repeatedly or being up for hours at a night. Many things in life have no price tag, and sleep is one of them. […]
Shook Beyond Recognition
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 […]