The first true prison visit was quite an experience.  We were so glad that my fiance had been designated after a year or two wait in the county jail.  We will get the chance to actually touch him, hug and kiss him.  He will finally get to hold our son for the first time.  He was hours  away in a rural area somewhere in the mountains.  No where you’d want to be caught in the dark! I remember it being a scary drive.  Thankfully, I was a rider this time since my parents went too.

We had no idea of what we were about to walk into, especially since this was our first time ever visiting a prison, not to mention a high security prison at that.   We finally got there after being lost.  We always manage to get lost because we’re literally just driving in the wilderness to get to a lot of these prisons.  We pull up and see all the barb wire fences, you know you see this stuff on TV,  but to experience it is still different.  I remember trying to be as normal as possible like this wasn’t my first trip,  but they can always tell the newbies!  That same nervous feeling I had at his sentencing was the same feeling I got walking into the prison.

The guards were walking around with stone faces and guns!  My children had never seen a gun. After signing in and making all the changes we were asked  (or rudely demanded) to make by the guards and clearing the metal detector, we walked to a small holding area to get our hand checked under a florescent  light to make sure it was stamped before we could proceed single file to the visitation room.  All kind of thoughts were running through my head…What have I done?! What has he done!…  I’ll be glad when he gets out of this mess, Damn! I can’t believe this!, wow!!!WOOWW!!! ….BAMMM!!!!!! Well the slamming of that HUGE HEAVY metal door made me jump right out of those thoughts!  Now, we’re locked in this little space until the guard leading us to the visitation building reaches a certain point.  If this is just a quick glimpse of what it’s like to be locked up…wow! No words!

We walked in a single file line to the visitation room where we were told where and how to sit until our family and/or friends came out.  All of the visitors constantly stared at the side door waiting for their family member to make his entrance.  When my fiance entered the door, my parents and myself were in total shock!  What happened to the man we knew?! We had to quickly fix our shocked faces.  He had gone from about 180 pounds to 250!! I was like whoa!!!… I thought people got into shape when they went to prison. LOL

He was so glad to finally hold our son and to reunite with our daughter.  Our son was now walking and two years old and our daughter was five.  They were so excited to see him!  He squatted down with open arms and they ran to him.  Now, my son ran to him following behind his sister since he really didn’t know what he looked like.  We always showed him pictures but looking at him at that moment the pictures were probably deceiving to a two year old. This was just the first visit of many to come…

One less thought,

Real Wife