Institutional Living

I am so grateful that I would have spent 19 ½ months within this system. When it is all said and done – I will be out next week. There are many others who had and will spend much more time than me. I witnessed an example of what institutional living can do to a person first hand this morning. I believe in open communications as the cornerstone to so many things in life. However, they sometimes get convoluted in a system like this. There are rules even in a setting such as this and I may never fully understand these rules to which I am grateful. I am eagerly appreciative to have a roommate who is also mystified at these. This system has a tendency to put people in a box and sometimes it is difficult to take the person out of the box. I do feel for these people who venture out into the real world not being able to express their thoughts verbally. The world in here is very basic; however, the skills learned in this system are not necessarily conducive to the outside world. I am fortunate to be getting out shortly and with me I will take some very poignant lessons.

Yesterday was the usual Sunday evening as I listened to “60 Minutes” with my roommate. One of the stories was about the people in Denmark and how they have achieved the title of the happiest country. I found it fascinating to learn why these people seem so happy. The critical component was low expectations. When expectations weren’t met these people weren’t devastated, but when they were met or exceeded they were very happy. This goes to the “live and let live” principle along with going with the flow. I believe inherently everyone is happy, yet life sometimes gets in the way of this happiness. The key is to stay focused in the here and now. I have enormous blessings in my life and when I think of these blessings, I always smile. I am happy – not only because I am getting released next week, but also because I have found peace of mind. In this peace of mind comes happiness and I can’t wait to share this with my family.

Today was a holiday so everyone was in camp. My replacement officially started today so I will be cleaning the bathrooms with him for the next week. I guess the plan is for me to train him, but after 5 minutes of explaining where all the supplies are located, he pretty much got it down. It will be nice to have another person for my last week of work. I started all the bathrooms with someone and now as I come full circle, I am once again cleaning with another person. I expect this week to move by quickly, but I will enjoy every moment. The home stretch is here and next week this journey will come to an end. I look forward to next week so much, but I will be patient and continue to live one day at a time.