Chapters

Wednesday I met w/ the kid whose sentencing I attended last week. He is leaving for his extended vacation in the beautiful Department of Corrections within the next week or so...This would be our final visit for the foreseeable future since I don't do prison visits anymore, just jail.

I stretched the time out as long as I could...We talked about making the time count, we talked about favorite fruits, we talked about tattoos, we talked about gangs and breakfast and his plans for the future.

When it was finally time for me to go, I asked if I could pray for him, which he declined (he's Muslim="Your God is not my God") I told him to divide the next several years into chapters to make it easier and he agreed. I gave him a long hug (which thankfully the officer ignored), told him to be safe, and left...leaving a bit of that "I'm-not-a-mother-but-I-bet-this-is-what-it-feels-like-to-be-leaving-a-child" heart behind.

Years ago, as I assisted another young person through multiple years of a DOC vacation, we took each segment of time as a chapter. Jail=chapter 1, Central Reception (where you get assigned a prison)=Chapter 2, Arriving at your final destination=Chapter 3...and there are many afterwards depending on what kind of experience you have (someone setting your bed on fire=Chapter 4, Protective Custody=Chapter 5, making it to the work release camps=Chapter 6, etc) When that kid came home I gave him a pen on which I'd inscribed "To all your future chapters", which he appreciated.

I pray the kid that is about to take this new journey has many chapters to write over the next few years...Some chapters will be short, others longer...Some he will not want to write and others I'm sure he'll relish with a passion (yes, there can be bright spots along the DOC journey) I hope I'm still around when this particular book of his life is over, and he can begin "Chapter 1" of a new start...