From Dragonfly: Hump Day

Today is Lola's husband's open heart surgery. If she were still here, I would be able to comfort her, as she waits for news of how he is faring. He was very nervous about the surgery and she wanted to be there more than anything. Since she couldn't, she sent a beautiful handmade teddy bear and an incredible card with a poem. He received them a couple days ago and loved them. They brought him out of his negativity for just a bit - which was good. But, like any spouse, it is times like these that he wants his wife close. An impossible situation for any marriage. So, I just want to put prayers out there for her husband today and into his recovery period after. I know he'll be okay.

Unfortunately, we have no phones for three days. In order to make a phone call, Lola will have to go to the Chaplains at the camp and have them call the number. She will likely only get to make one phone call before the phones are back on Friday. Not having phones for a couple days impacts a lot of people. There are birthdays (like my stepfathers was yesterday), anniversaries, good night calls to young children, and more that are missed for a couple days due to the lack of ability to call. It's so hard to explain to people on the outside how much we cannot control what we have access to and when. For the last two days, our email system has been down half the day as well. With no phones, when the email system is working, there are extremely long lines.

Plus, President Obama is doling out a clemency campaign that includes a long survey on the computers. Any inmate who has a non-violent charge and has served 10 years or more, can fill out the survey to be considered for Presidential Clemency. The President is expected to release thousands of non-violent offenders who were given extreme sentences. Here at Carswell, there are far too many women who fit in that category. When they finally get on a computer, the survey tends to take them a good amount of time to complete. I wish they had legal advice to know how to answer the questions, but there is none. I just hope some of them get through the process and go home, soon.

It's Wednesday - hump day - which also makes it banana and hamburger day. There are so many routines here, that we know our days by the routines. My routine will start with breakfast with Freckles and the morning at inside rec working out. It's a new routine, but one I hope to keep on the outside, as well (sans breakfast with Freckles, but I'll be thinking of her).