CHRISTMAS 2013

Today is the day after Christmas. I sit here with my morning coffee and find myself reflecting on the wonderful day we spent with our son yesterday. The hwh didn’t authorize any or the residents (even those on home confinement like corey is) to leave their premises (as with the Thanksgiving holiday no reason was given) but again, like on Thanksgiving, we packed up the holiday meal and transported it over to his apartment. Not saying I’m not grateful to be doing just that, sure beats the alternative. We also had loaded the truck with years worth (boxes of) ‘stocking stuffers’ we’ve had in storage, growing in volume with every passing Christmas. We had all looked forward to this day, with each passing Christmas of the past 9 years, to when Corey would finally unwrap them all. Rod and I had forgotten of course, over these past years, what was in each cheerily wrapped pkg, each labeled with the particular Christmas year it celebrated, 2004 thru 2012 (joined by a fresh new bag of 2013 gifts!) so it was as much fun for us as it was for Corey as each gift was revealed, each instantly bringing back where and when it was purchased, that particular holiday season, each gift sparking a story, a memory, accompanied with the scents even (funny how that is), the very atmosphere, of that time. Talk about taking a journey back in time!

We passed the entire day relaxing, feasting, telling stories, watching movies, enjoying the comfort and warmth of each others presence, just the here and now of the day, the occasion of Christmas day with all its meaning, traditionally, spiritually and personally. I know each of us was filled with a sense of immense gratitude. And I know all our thoughts and prayers on this day included those of friends and families we've met along this journey, those now free and those still confined,wishing them all peace, good will and joy throughout the season and beyond.

As we leave this most wonderful Christmas behind us, I find myself reflecting, and wondering what this new year holds for us all. For now there is a peace and satisfaction in our ‘hibernation’ of sorts, as winter settles in, with the surrounding cityscape and pine-tree landscape covered in snow, with the long winter months before us. It’s a time to rest, regroup, and simply enjoy the peace of the season. Ahhhh…I’m so ready for this.

"The struggle ends when the gratitude begins." ~Neale Donald Walsch

WHY FACEBOOK? WHY NOW?

I found my original Facebook page and decided to get active again. I had set it up years ago, back in 2007, about two years after moving to California ... in Facebooks early years before it totally exploded!... and then just abandoned it, after setting up and maintaining Coreys FB page ... THAT kept me as busy as I wanted to be on a social network, and before long forgot about it entirely. I see I managed to post quite a few pictures of various adventures those early years in Taft though and it was fun to go back through the albums. Not sure how much time I’ll dedicate to it even now, may just be a passing fancy for me, as I have a little more time on my hands these winter days.

I admit to having a certain paranoia re social network sites, all the more so over the years as our Govt has grown more and more intrusive in the everyday lives of its citizens. Call me crazy, but with the revelations about the NSA data mining all our online correspondence and activities, never mind our phone conversations, et al, I have to believe the minute I publish or blog or post anything it is THERE forever, tucked away in a Govt file with my name on it. Not that my life is all that interesting, but somehow the idea of Big Brother just having its thumb on my life, all our lives, gives me the creeps. Its just wrong, pure and simple. Did you know the NSA even has a Facebook page? I have to wonder who would want to ‘friend’ the NSA? Ha!

Don’t ask why have I now chosen to activate my FB page, willingly become part of this massive social network site, because frankly I’m not even sure myself. Maybe its just that I got bored the other day? Maybe just because I found my page, and it 'beckoned' to me? And hey, it is kinda fun to see the little red icons show up alerting you someone has messaged you or you have 'notifications' or a new friend request...much like when Email first became available and the "You Have Mail" message would elicit a certain anticipation! Ha! For whatever reason I have to admit it was a temptation that proved irresistible.

December Update

Brrrrrr…..its a chilly Friday morning, I just stepped out on my deck to check the thermometer and it currently reads 2 degrees F. In checking the forecast online I see we can expect temperatures below 0 in the next few days with this cold front that has moved into the State, into the Midwest in general. I’ll venture out here in a bit, have some holiday shopping to do among other things and I prefer to do this on weekdays vs the now crazy busy weekend days. From what I heard about the huge turnouts for the big sales blitzes (Black Friday, Day After Thanksgiving Sale, Cyber Monday (online shoppers) last week, in fact many stores opened Thanksgiving evening to kick off the frenzy, one would think everyone had pretty much completed their Christmas shopping, but not so, it truly is the season of shop till you drop.

It has been 7 weeks now since Coreys release and so much has happened in those weeks. The journey, happily, has been much easier, much less fraught with anxiety (other than my own inner demons that can ‘imagine’ and worry about everything than could possibly go wrong and keep me awake nites!) than we’d expected. In those weeks, which I’ve posted about already, he tested and got his drivers license, was allowed daily passes to job search, shop and prepare his own apartment to move into. Exactly a month after arriving at the HwH he was granted Home Confinement and has been enjoying the privacy, peace and comfort of his own place after almost ten years of sharing living quarters with well over a thousand men. Corey seems incredibly content and so many of the little (stress?)lines he would complain about that had taken up residence on his brow these past years just simply are no longer there!

AND yesterday he started his new job. The aspect of his finding secure employment (if that even exists anymore)was perhaps MY biggest concern and yes, worry. For all the reasons I posted about in earlier posts. Corey of course didn’t appear to have any of MY reservations or concerns, he just knew without a doubt he was going to find a job. I love that about him! Despite all his qualifications (prior to imprisonment), including the two degrees he earned while imprisoned, we knew many employers would give him a pass, the “idea” of the felony making them uncomfortable, despite the fact his was a first time, nonviolent offense, the fact he had never stolen from anyone, never hurt anyone. But hit the streets he did, riding the city buses every day, to distribute his job applications and resumes, never once doubting he’d hear back from some of them soon.

AND he had calls for interviews within days. Within a week both Nordstroms and Sports Authority, among others, called to schedule interviews. Just days post interview, Nordstroms called to offer him a job (followed by Sports Authority, the very next day) and though it took two weeks before he could finally go to work for them, due to HWH hoops he had to jump through (time wasting bureaucracy!), that being pretty much the only frustrating experience that tried his patience since arriving in the city, Corey went to work.