Welcome to the Parental Haven where you can unwind and just sit back and talk to other parents who are going thru the same things you are going thru.

Everyone is welcome to stop in and just chat about things that are going on
in our daily lives. No matter if its happy or sad, good or bad we are here to
listen and to make you smile. Come in put your feet up, relax and chit chat
away!!!

The staff of this forum thought that this would be a great start for each of the parents to get to know each other better!


Have a great May!
BSS,Valerie

Welcome:) I am on top of the world right now, I just got home yesterday from visiting my son for two weekends:) I had not seen him since October 05. It has been almost 14 years but with a lot of luck he will be home with us next year. Love Barb

Barb, I am so glad that your visit went well!! That is so exciting that he may be home with you next year!! I will certainly keep a prayer going that his coming home is a soon to be reality!!!
You must be floating on the clouds!!!


Patti

That's wonderful news. I'm so glad that you had a great visit. You will be in my prayers.

so glad you had a nice visit :)

You know I'm happy you had a good visit and I hope this year flies by for you.Love Val

Bss -- I am so happy that you visit went well.. Its always a great feeling to walk away from a loved one with a smile on our faces.. Crossing my fingers that he will be home next year with you..

Everyone how are yall doing? i hope everyone's week is going great ..

Congrats on the great visit!!! As a parent leaving a visit smiling is a rare treat!!! Mine are so few and far between since I live in WVa. and my son is serving LWOP in Ms. This is an emotional rollercoaster that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy!! Some days are easier than others though.I also do alot of volunteer work with at risk children. Some of the kids I work with have 1 or both parents serving time,or another family member or friend serving,facing or done time. Until my son was arrested I never realized how much being in prison affected the whole family.

Glad you had a good visit Barb, I can't imagine not seeing my kids for so long, that has to be tough on all of you. Hopefully he will get to come home soon!

Ok, so how is the week going....hmmm....my new friend percocet is still visiting, I saw the periodontist today and he said I would probably need them for another week or so. I think I am building up a tolerance to them so I hope my gums heal up quickly. I am getting pretty tired of this crap! Other than that, things are going pretty well for us. My youngest son and his girlfriend just got a new apartment so they are moving out of our basement and we will have the house to ourselves again. Hey, I can run around naked! (yeah, right! lol) I will probably go thru the empty nest syndrome again, but I bet I recover faster this time! The dog is sitting on the couch watching out the front window waiting for him to come home. She just doesn't understand where they go and why. I really do feel sorry for her. She will be in our bed tonight!
Sooooo...my life is not too exciting. How about the rest of you?

Life is not exciting; but peaceful despite it all. Some days I sail through the hours and some days the hours drag me along. I know that there is an end to this; but when. I tell myself not to hurry it; to allow everything to work the way it is suppose to. I too am an empty nester (no husband :) ). My youngest son moved out last summer and of course my oldest is in prison. Some how I cannot bring myself to run around the house naked (lol). Everybody have a great weekend.

Would like to be the first to wish everyone a very Happy Happy Mothers Day! I received my card from my son today, he drew it all up & wrote the most beautiful words. Most of the time I sit & read things he has sent & look at things he has drawn & wonder why couldn't he have realized he had talent. Every since he was little he was able to draw very good & the teachers would tell him how talented he was. I would put everythings he drew up on the walls & his dad would take them to work & brag, just never seem to be enough for him. Sorry about going on & on, was just wondering again! Hope all you moms get beautiful cards & loving words from the kids also!

chickle- wow that is great that you do work with children.. i know that it helps them to see someone willing to share their extra love with them.. you are such a great person..

galgrif- aww so you are going to have the house all too yourself? So what does that mean? House party? I got the chips and soda!! :D

CC- Hey how are you doing? my husband is like that talented like yours so i know where you are coming from.. hopefully when he comes home he can do something with his talent and even become famous ..

Lillybee- i know what you mean.. since i have decided to move its like the days have been going as slow as molasses.

I am so glad that yall are getting to know each other and i want to say that i admire all of you who are here for their children. There are so many parents who when they children mess up they dont believe in forgivness. Ya'll children are lucky and blessed to have great parents like you.

Well i am not doing much this weekend just studying for finals coming up this week Have a great week all of yall

Well, here we are, another Sunday night, getting ready for our week ahead. I don't know about the rest of you, but, this week holds nothing new for me. I cleaned out our freezer today..and our pantry...to send off to my youngest and his girlfriend at their new apartment. So, now not only can I run the house bare ass naked but I get to go shopping too!(can you do that nude? LMAO!) Awwwh hell, the freezer needs cleaned anyway! Soooooo, what is the plan for all of the rest of you?

Hey galgrif, might try the nude shopping you may start a new fad...LOL. Sure would be fun to sit back & watch other peoples facial expressions.

e_wife03, Good luck on the exams, I know you will be one tired lady after this week is over.

trust me, the fad wouldnt last long! They would have my butt in jail for sure! But, I am with you...if we could find a volunteer....the facial expressions would be PRICELESS!

BTW, e-wife, what are you studying anyway?

BTW, e-wife, what are you studying anyway?

Wow i am sitting here with jaw dropped .. yall are talking bout nude shoppping .. yall are so crazy..

I am studying to be a radiography (xray) and sonography (ultrasound) .. right now i am taking anatomy physiology and math and will be done with those classes this week yea me ..

Hello everyone and Happy Mothers Day!
I am doing fine,been sick but am better now.My son is also doing good also.
We are still trying to get sentenced reduced,but all in THEIR good time!
So happy for you Barb,I know you must be beside yourself.

Barb,
I am so glad you had a happy visit withy our son, one year and all yours!!! I know it will happen. I visited my son on May 6 and it was ahappy visit also, almost cannot speak for a week when we have a bad visit like if he is down or doesnt look good you know... No one could get me to shut up after this visit. I told my daughter that I swear that child gets better lookin each time I see him! She said" you are not his mother much are you..." anyway I am kinda curious Barb, are you nervous or anxious or what? Im sure the thought of what it will be like is on your mind isnt it? Its on mine.
Joe Siver

My son is also in MS, and we are in TN it is so hard to visit often. But each time I just want to look at him and make sure he hasn't changed much, looks healthy and not beat up and things like that. We still can not have contact visits and I long to just hold him in my arms and tell him it all going to be OK. I can't do any of that. It has been since Feb 05. It just turned 20 in March so he is still my baby boy, and always will be. He has made a horrible mistake and choice of friends and I am afraid he is in for a very long time. He tries very hard to not let us know if he is depressed or worried but I know he has to be, how could he not. Just since I have joined PT do I feel that there are people who can really understand how deeply this hurts. I have dreamed about my son being out of there the last two nights and even in my dreams I can feel the hurt in his eyes. How can they ever have a normal life when society can only see their past, and they are not often able to forgive. My son said he dreams of coming home and going into business places in town and people running or glaring angrily at him. I just really can not imagine the sadness they must feel, he tells me he doesn't sleep much and they have him on anti-depressants. It just breaks my heart to see him living this way. Thanks for your shoulder to cry on. Cathy

hi,my son has been in since jan 9,2006 he is in camp hill, pa, on medical hold pending transfer to houzdale in pa. they said his first release date is 6-6-07 i pray he gets out before that. we also vounteer alot to keep busy. it is really hard to think of him in there. i was going to go see him today and he told me to wait untill they transfer him, it is weird with no kids at home and all the running around you do for them, our son keeps talking about what he going to do to our house when he gets out, i guess it keeps his mind busy, told him it takes money he has big plans. i wish everyone a happy mothers day

Just wanted to stop by and wish all you wonderful mothers a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Hello everyone!
Not much new here, had a nice visit with the kid on Sunday. He really doesnt like us to visit, he said it makes it harder for him to face the up coming days. I let him tell us when he would like us to visit. I know that is a luxury for some who cannot visit. Our son is 3.5 hours away but we have family in the area so it makes it easier and we get to see them too.

Our son is only 20-30 minutes away. We generally go once every other week. We can have 3 hr visits, but ususally stay about 2 (actual time with him). By the time the 2 hours are up, he's asking us, "You ready to go now?" I suppose just knowing we're so close is comforting. If we were farther away and it were more difficult to get to him, I'm sure we'd not be leaving earlier than we had to.

Sun is shining here in Iowa :) Nice after all the cloudy, dreary days we've had.

Hope you all have a very blessed day and rest of the week!

Hi, well I am pretty excited, last Saturday my daughter got married, cant tell you what a relief of stress that was. It was a beatifull wedding, everything was good except for the camcorder, we got the wrong disks but we still have pictures.
On mothers day she got baptized. I am so happy, I was crying in the pew and looked over to a friend that is about 6'5 and maybe 300 lbs and he was balling to.
we had her first new christian bible study last night and it went great.
God is so good.

I also got a mothers day from my son. Brightened the day although he signed it "from" dan instead of "love" makes me wonder most of his letters say From also. Probably just me looking for something wrong. Got a letter today he said the time is flying for him. Still torn about going to see him. He sent the visiting schedule but I know I will lose it when I see him and dont want to upset him. It's been so long since I've seen him. Have had quite a few bad days here in a row. Hoping they ease up a little. I could use the break

Happy Belated Mother's Day you all!!! I hope that all of you had a great day. I know it was hard with a child away but you ladies are ever so strong and i know yall made it special still.

galgrif- I am glad that you got to see your son on sunday .. you know that no matter what he says .. that if he didnt have those visits he would be lost with out mommy. I am glad that i was a great visit. Tell him that you visit him cause you miss him and that its a way to help you .. help him get thru this situation.

Jerry'smom congratulations on your daughter getting married and bapitized .. Aww, its ok to cry .. you were just shedding tears of joy.

Susie.. I hope that you go visit your son .. About him signing it from instead of love .. maybe that is just his way. You know that he loves you .. so dont let that bother you for you know that you hold a special place in his heart.. After all you are MOMMY.. (smile) .. I hope that you days get better... keep updated...


Believing.. I am glad that you are that close to him and are able to see him so often. Its a good thing that he feels that comfort from yall coming al lthe time . That love is what gives them strength while being in there.

Hi again all
Went to see my son today and had a great visit.He looks good but notice he has lost some weight,which didn't hurt him at all!Actually he looks better than ever.I noticed this trip his hair was completely gray!He is still a goodlooking guy.
Also, Thankyou, for those of you who write him,he loves his mail.

I am glad that your visit went well. Thanks for sharing your update with us.

How has everyone else been?

Howdy everyone!

Who has big plans for the long weekend?

I wish I could say that I am going to lay around the house and be lazy, but noooooo! One of the boys and his wife and 2 kidos will be up to visit so I will be having fun chasing the grandkids around and spoiling them! There is a festival at one of the nearby lakes that I thought we would go check out and also a go cart grand prix race that we thought might be fun. Hopefuly it wont be too hot.
Still struggling with my dental issues, have had a constant headache for 5 days now. If I dont take advil every 3 hours I am in trouble. Thats a real pain in the night when I am trying to get some rest. The periodontist ground off some areas of my back teeth today, he thinks I may be clenching my jaw or grinding my teeth and that is what is causing the headaches. I hope this works because I have about had it with this!

Planted some new flowers and one lonely tomato plant last weekend, so I will probably have the water bill from hell but I enjoy the plants. Does anyone else garden?

Well, hope everyone is doing well. Have a great weekend.

No big plans here. We will be going to visit our son; we usually go every other weekend. We went out of state last weekend for our niece's graduation, which is the weekend we would've gone to see Kevin. We are blessed in that he's only 1/2 hour away.

I would kind of like to do something and at the same time look forward to just having 3 days off to do whatever :) since the following 2 weekends we will be busy.

I'm sorry to hear you're still suffering, galgrif. I hope it's resolved soon. Headaches can be so debilitating, espicially when they are constant.

Hope everyone has a very blessed holiday weekend.

how was your visit believing ? I hope it was a great one .. well as great as it can get.. What did your neice graduate from?


galgrif- i hope you feel better soon..

It was a really nice visit. He seems to be maturing and, hopefully, facing the realities of life. I think he's finally realized that crime does not pay; sooner or later you get caught and pay the consequences. He's faced many, but he hates being where he's at (even though he's doing really good). Just hoping when he gets out that this stays forever in his mind! My real prayer is that God becomes real to him and he starts living for the Lord. I would be in heaven :)

My niece graduated from high school. They live in Missouri.

Yea i know what you mean about hoping it stays on his mind.. Most ppl who commit crime and have to go thru the harsh reality of tough prison life do change and that visit with the State or Federal prisons are imprinted in their minds forever. I hope that he finds a religion that makes him happy and shows him that he needs to find that inner peace before finding that outerself.
Has he taken any classes while he has been there? Or is he just working in there?

Thanks guys for your well wishes.

Its nice that you are seeing changes in your son. I know we all hope that this is going to be the final straw and that they will finally "get it"!

He's taken 2 classes and is supposed to go in front of the parole board the 27th of this month. His counselor tells him it looks good. He's never denied the Lord, just has a way of turning away and making bad choices (drugs). That's my biggest prayer that he would surrender all to the Lord and follow the straight and narrow path. I'd love to see him and all the others enjoy and appreciate this gift of life.

Anyone have vacation plans?

I got to see my son, he's looking good. I dont know how many times I have posted this and I"m sorry if you've read it before but I have never in mine or his entire life went 2 years without holding him and seeing him. He says first parole is January 2007 so we can hope. I pray he's learned from this for his childrens sake
SusieK

I just got home from work and I am exhausted. Can't sleep though because I have my son on my mind (like always) His lawyer is meeting with the parole board on July 11th, and that is all I can think about right now. I didn't think this was going to happen until September. I am thrilled that it is in July don't get me wrong, but I know that this is really real now, and what if he doesn't get a good TPM? I sit on this site and the GDCI and make myself crazy looking at what others got or are getting. Does anyone else do this stuff or am I just going insane?! Hope eveyone has a great week. Monday starts my weekend because I work Fri-Sun. Love it! My prayers are with eveyone and Barb, I will keep your son in my prayer for next year!

I've known for quite some time that my son would be meeting with the parole board June 27 (tomorrow). I've finally gotten to the point where what will be, will be. I only want the Lord's will. I've not prayed he'll get released nor that he doesn't. I don't want him in any longer than he needs to be, but I don't want him out until he's ready, and only the Lord knows when that time is. So, I pray only for the Lord's will. I don't let myself think about the results being one way or another. I'm just trusting God and believing that whatever happens will be for the best.

I will pray that you can have peace while waiting for July 11 when his lawyer meets with the parole board.

Believin.. Im not trying to be nosey but Ive been thinkin about ya since I believe it was June 1 and you mentioned the parole board hearing. I know you are at peace with whatever happens but for some reason I cant wait to hear the results..I guess Im the little voice on one shoulder saying let him go..You will have to find the other side saying keep him.. cuz that aint me..I want you to be happy so ..Gods Plan.. Right? like the song says.. "If you want to make God laugh tell him your plans" Keep us ok ME updated ok..everyone else is being good and minding their own business.. SherryD

Thanks Sherry. I'll let you know. He has to have the approval of 4 of them on the parole board. 3 will be there today (actually it's done by TV/monitor). So, if they approve, then they see if the 4th one does. There are 5 on the board, so I'm not sure how it all works. He's heard it'll be anywhere from a few days to a few weeks before he knows. I do hope it's sooner rather than later.

I can be at peace with what happens because both our sons have had years and years of drug abuse (in and out of jail, treatment centers, etc, etc). I finally wised and decided to get off the emotional rollercoaster. Much easier said than done, but I know my sons will be set free from all this in time. And I know the Lord's time is always right. I don't always succeed, but I try to "walk by faith not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). But, believe me, it took more years than I want to think about to get to this point. My heart still hearts like only a mother's can, but I can't keep beating myself up emotionally for things I have no control over and cannot change. It's a hard lesson to learn. We tear ouselves up with guilt, doubt and fear until we can truly give them over to the Lord.

Sorry so long...
Thanks again, and I'll let you know what happens.

With blessings,

Today I went to see my son.We had a good visit and he ate like he was starving to death!I think he doesn't eat on my days to visit so he can eat better food.Well they did have a cook-out today,fried fish basket,cheesburger basket and chili cheese fries.
BSS,I am so happy for you,it been a long time comming.You are in my prayers.

Its so hard with our children in prison when we live so far away.i miss her so much some days its hard to get out of bed.i have another younger daughter who lives near me with my 2 grandchildren so i try to visit with them but i still have my other daughter on my mind its hard to even think straight.she is in louisiana and im in fla so its hard to visit her often.but she just got transferred to a closer prison but its still like 12hrs away.she has another 3yrs to go so im grateful i stumbled onto this site thanks to who ever started this.god bless.bye for now