Well, tonight I entered a place that I never thought I would go. PRISON. Yep, you read that right. I went in, took off my shoes, jacket, jewelry, etc. I emptied my pockets and got waved over with a wand, patted down, and then went through the metal detecting machine. And then, I got locked inside the big wire fence. You are probably wondering why I would do this....I did not commit a crime. I did this voluntarily...so why...why...why would I go to prison. Well, for my son. My son did something really stupid this summer and landed himself in trouble. One of the consequences of this trouble was that we had to attend a program called "From the horse's mouth." It is a program where the kids who are in trouble and their parents go to a prison. There are inmates there who talk to the kids. They share their story and they make the kids tell them why they are there. On the night we went, our two inmates were both convicted of murder. My son sat next to one of them who had been in prison for 20 years. I cannot tell you how hard it was to be there as a mom. Who would ever imagine a scenario where a mother would voluntarily sit her child next to a murderer? Well, I would do it again in a minute. The man who spoke to the kids killed someone when he was fifteen--just two years older than Alex and exactly the age of Emma. He had been in and out of juvenile detention many times. He was convicted as an adult at 15 and put in the harshest prison in the state. He described what that was like and showed the kids pictures of what the prison really looks like inside and all sorts of injuries--bites, stab wounds, cuts, beat up faces, etc. I was impressed with this guy. He was articulate and he didn't really sugar coat it. But, during his time in prison, he has gotten his GED, an associates degree, and a bachelor's degree. He has about 7 years left. The other man, who also murdered someone, didn't have as much to say. He did really tell the kids that prison was not somewhere they wanted to be. Anyway, it was actually a really good program. It was very intimidating for me as an adult and probably one of the most difficult things I have ever done, but it was also very interesting and thought provoking. Currently, most kids that are on probation of involved with probation or court in Putnam County and Brazil. They just started offering this for parents to take their kids on their own without it being required by court. I highly recommend this program. If you are a parent and your kid is giving you trouble or is getting out of control, this is a great wake up call. If you don't live in Indiana, I would bet that there is a program like this somewhere near you. You could call the local probation department or prison or State Police to find out more. If you are in Indy and you want more info, send me a note and I will get you the info.
