While listening to the radio on my tablet they advertised the Lewisburg Ice Festival. There was a 5k run this morning. They were broadcasting from Rusty Rail Brewing mid-day (that sounds like my type of restaurant), then there was a parade at 2:15, a polar plunge in the Susquehanna river at 2:30, and a chocolate lovers festival in the evening. My sister-in-law took my Dad to lunch downtown two weeks ago and said it is quite nice in town and around Bucknell University. While riding to work the past few weeks they advertised a bridal show in Williamsport this weekend at a Holiday Inn, I believe. Also there is some cheesecake festival I think in Bloomsburg soon and there was a Christmas celebration there in December as well.
I have the option to work weekends for double pay, but don’t have computer access yet and my pay is still very low, so I haven’t signed up for weekend work yet. It’s typically louder and harder to sleep Friday and Saturday nights, so sleeping in is the safer plan. The forecast for this weekend was sun and mid-40’s and I spent most of my spare time today writing this journal, responding to folks who wrote to me via mail and email and worked on Valentines crafts for Patti. It’s amazing what you can do with some copy paper, clear tape, safety scissors, packaging from commissary items, pictures folks send me, and magazines. Last week I sent Patti a picture from Men’s Health of Glen Powell exiting a shower with a bare ass and my head taped on top of his head.
I spoke to Patti on schedule at 7:45pm. She told me she spent most of her day at a high school indoor track meet for Gabriel and Ocean Breeze sports complex on Staten Island. He threw the shot and competed in high jump and had a solid performance as a junior and varsity athlete. Connor had driven out to our house and took Charlotte to the Bridgewater Mall, Shake Shack, and then they washed his car together. After our call Patti, Charlotte, and Connor watched Jungle Cruise while I watched it on my tablet and Kelsy and Mo watched it in FL. The movie wasn’t that great, but it felt good watching it as a family. It was a tough night sleeping as a cube in my wing decided to have a gathering and talk loudly until 2:50 am. So I slept until 8:45am, I checked my email, and then at 9:10 just as I’m about to get up from the computers I hear my name called for a visit. I said in my head OMG, Patti totally surprised me. We had decided to take this weekend off, because the old policy allowed 3 visits a month for January, but they changed it to 4 visits starting this month after we already decided to take off this weekend. So I rush back to change out of my sweat pants and into my khakis and meet her in the visitation room. I’m so excited that I tell some folks on the way over that she surprised me. It took some time for my head to clear as I was flustered from the bad sleep and surprise. During our visit she highlighted that she gave me a heads-up email with only the subject ‘Khakis?.’ I thought the email was related to the fact I’ve been spelling ‘Khakis’ ‘Kaki’s’ for months. (Patti edit-I should have titled the email Put your Khakis on. All inmates need to wear their khakis during a visit and can’t wear their sweatpants like they are allowed to all day on the weekends).
It was such a nice surprise. We both love surprises and I had written her a letter weeks ago bringing back memories of many surprises we have shared together. Some go way back to college. Both of us would just drive to the other’s college dorm or apartment and surprise each other for a long weekend or just one night. For my 40th birthday she arranged for my dad and step mom Kathleen to watch the children as she took me to Sandals in Jamaica. When the children were young she asked us to pack for one night and bring bathing suits and surprised all of us by driving to Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos for my birthday. We had never been to an indoor waterpark resort like that, so that was so rewarding for our entire young family. For our 20th anniversary, I told her to pack for a warm destination and took her to Maui and Kauai. She finally knew where we were going as we started walking towards the gate during boarding at Newark. During boarding, I apologized for the surprise 10 hour flight, but she didn’t seem to mind. We have shared tons more surprises, like her hosting surprise birthday parties and inviting lots of family and friends to our house for my past two birthdays.
I got quite emotional for the first time during today’s visit. Perhaps it was the hint of spring in the air and me missing the backyard with Patti. Perhaps it was her telling me home is just not the same without me. Often she is home alone as Gabriel and Charlotte are at school, indoor track practice, the kids are over friends houses, or Gabriel is out working 4 nights a week at the new Wendy’s in Clinton. She often doesn’t cook meals from scratch like we typically did together as a team. I just try to think day to day and not too far out. I think Valentine’s Day is coming up and I just need to miss one more and then on the third Valentine’s Day I will be with her. So the rest of the visit goes great. We embrace at the end and then it’s over. I walk back to my unit in nice sunny mid-40’s weather and notice lots of inmates outside. Ten to fifteen are playing basketball, a dozen or two are walking or running around the track, others are sitting on benches and some are at a small outdoor workout area between the beach volleyball court and bocce ball pit. It’s really a decent setup outside for a prison camp. Then after I entered the unit I’m told 3 inmates from the camp went over to the RDAP building and got caught playing Nintendo. (I didn’t even know they had Nintendo over there.) So they got disciplinary action, but the COs also decided to turn off all the TV’s in RDAP and in the units and close the gym for the rest of today. Overall this didn’t affect me, but welcomed me back to reality. I run outside and have one of my favorite meals (tacos) so overall a very pleasant weekend in the middle of winter.
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