Our First Holiday Together

Last year at this time I was celebrating Thanksgiving without Ron. Thursday was a free visiting day at Taft, but I did not visit on that day. I spent Thanksgiving in Los Angeles with my mom and kids, and went to see Ron on Friday, our regular visiting day. It's amazing how quickly one forgets. I was trying to recall last year at this time and had a hard time. Ron remembers having a pretty good dinner (actually at lunchtime) served to the inmates, real turkey and all the trimmings. Ron also remembers being very lonely on that day when most people are celebrating with friends and family. The amazing thing is how quickly we all forget the saddness and loneliness. I was asking Ron about how he remembered the holiday, and except for the turkey dinner, he couldn't remember much. I guess that's a good thing. We definitely forget pain. If we didn't, who would have a second child?

This Thanksgiving was quite a bit different. Although our Colorado family could not be here because they are expecting a baby in a few weeks, Brian and his family came for a Friday Thanksgiving. I know, Thanksgiving is on Thursday, but my feeling is that this holiday is all about being together, whenever that may be. David came down to see us last week, I saw my mom last week as well, and we video chatted with Phil, Deborah and Lennon. Unfortunately Ron's travel is quite limited and we were unable to go to Los Angeles, but we got to see and enjoy everyone one way or another. We had a wonderful turkey dinner on Friday, took the twins to the park, and enjoyed the company of Beth and Brian for the afternoon. It was such a meaningful time for us, a far cry from last year.

Of all the holidays, Thanksgiving reminds me of how much we have to be grateful for; good health and a supportive, loving family. What more could you ask for?

It's almost December. Ron has been home for more than 4 months. Where does the time go? He still thinks of his friends at Taft, especially at this time of year. I am just getting ready to send a few men some calendars for 2012. That is one of their favorite things to receive. They are all counting the days, weeks, months or years until they too can be reunited with their loved ones. I'm happy to send them a calendar to help them keep track of time. Neither Ron nor I mark the calendar the way we used to. For me, that was a daily ritual, marking off the day, and counting how many more weeks or months we would be apart. Ron did something similar. We're together and happy, so every day for us is just another day in paradise.