Feeling Great

It's the beginning of March, and I promised I would update you once a month on our progress. I'm happy to report that things are going great. Ron and I are moving shortly, less than 2 miles from our current home. We are very excited. It's a beautiful neighborhood and a lovely home. Our biggest challenge when we move will be keeping the white carpet white. That's going to be tough.

For the first time in ages, probably years, the smile is back on Ron's face instead of the look of "what's going to happen next?" He is calm, sleeping well, exercising, pitching in around the house, and working with passion on everything he does. It's great to see. As for me, I am still recovering from knee surgery. I didn't realize it would take so long. Although I don't think my knee is any better than before the surgery, the doctor says to give it time. He is still optimistic of some improvement. It took forever to get the anesthesia out of my system. I felt constantly tired for weeks. I am back to my regular activities, with some limitations.

No one really tells the truth about what life will be life after incarceration, or maybe it's just that it's different for everyone. It truly took a good six months for Ron to feel "normal" again. He has adjusted to the fact that for the next 2 1/2 years he is accountable on a monthly basis to his probation officer and that he can't travel out of San Diego county without permission. If you have to be someplace, this is not a bad place to be. He knows that everything he does in business, or anything that requires a background check, may be a potential stumbling block.

When Ron was first released, he incorrectly thought he'd come home and life would return to normal. He changed, I changed, and the way people saw him changed. That means some people would not accept him because of his past, orthers would be interested in know him BECAUSE of his past. We understand it all. The thing that surprises Ron the most is that not a single person has asked him anything about his time in prison. He finds that surprising, and so do I. Maybe they think it's prying.

This is the best we've been in a long, long time. A move to a new house may be the source of some new good energy, and we're optimistic that business, health, and pleasure will continue to be positive. What a great feeling for me to hear my Ron, who has been through so much in the past 11 years, say "This is the happiest I've been in a very long time."