Early Morning Thoughts – Ro’s Visit Weekend Documentary, Video #6
Visit Weekend Documentary by Strong Prison Wives Co-founder, Ro. Video #6
Early on Sunday morning, before the second day of my “visiting prison weekend,” I got up, did some work online, then sat down to collect my thoughts. It wasn’t until then that I realized just how tired I felt.
Visits are always exhausting! Physically, my body becomes worn out from waking up considerably earlier than usual. Additionally, sitting in the same spot, breathing in stale visiting room air, sipping on muddy, vending machine coffee over the course of the 6 hour day becomes draining.
Emotions are raging throughout the weekend as well. There is the over-excitement leading up to visit and the nerve wrecking check-in process. Will they like what I’m wearing? Will I pass through the metal detector without making it beep? Will it be seamless today or will someone have an issue that holds us up for half an hour?
Then there is the waiting game. The cops walk us to the large cafeteria style room with rows of chairs set up for the prisoners to sit with their families. After what seems like an eternity, the loud click of the “back door” unlocking begins and in walks the first inmate of the day. Anxiously, I sit waiting for him to be the next one. I fix my hair. Look around the room. Take a sip of water. Unwrinkle my clothing. Take another sip of water and wait. As he walks through the door, all anxieties fall to the wayside and a little girl type elation takes over.
Visit is always a roller-coaster of emotions. Often we laugh, one time I cried and when it comes time to to say goodbye; we are both ready to “crash.” We crash hard. Only to look forward to doing it all over again the following day.
For me, over-tiredness always leads to over heightened emotions. I’ll cry at just about anything when I’m tired, sometimes about nothing. The video below corresponds with my thoughts in my First Time for Everything blog post.