I don't remember my first Christmas in prison, in particular. What stands out for me are visits that I received around the holidays; one moreso than the others to date. It was the first visit I had with my Mom while I was housed at Unit 32.

Until the last couple of years Unit 32 was open, there were no contact visits allowed because it was a maximum security facility where death row and high risk prisoners were housed. When I had my first visit there with my Mom, they only allowed us one hour and we had to communicate via telephone, separated by security glass. Before that I had been housed at Unit 17, which is a much smaller unit - 60 prisoners compared to approximately 1,000. A big change for me and my family.
 

This visit was in December and Mom was telling me what they'd been doing. Mom always fills me in on what my younger brother and sister have been up to. Leah was 3 years old, just getting old enough to really enjoy Christmas, and Tommy was excited. They had been given some early Christmas "happy," including these hollow plastic candy canes filled with M&M's. Tommy had been eating his candy and it was almost empty. Leah had only eaten a few of her M&M's. Seeing that Tommy only had a few left, she opened her container, then opened his and- being careful not to spill any- poured half her M&M's into Tommy's container.

I couldn't help it. I cried. Some tough prisoner I am, eh? This December promises to be memorable, too. I hope to soon meet my nephew for the first time. I left my sister when she was a baby, and now I get to meet her baby. That will be a Christmas present to remember.

Wishing you all Happy Holidays. Take care, stay safe, and don't take your loved ones for granted. We thank all of you for your support and for caring. Love and light to you all.

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