Snow was Short-Lived

The snow of yesterday was short-lived and the majesty of the fallen snow has now dissipated. It certainly was lovely as it fell and amazingly we have experienced all of the four seasons this week. It started off with a beautiful spring like day on Monday followed by a summer like day on Tuesday which was followed by an autumn like day on Wednesday and finally winter set in on Thursday with the snow. Today it has settled back into more seasonable temperatures and bright sunshine.

Yesterday I had one of those episodes which reminded me that my life is certainly not my own in my current situation. I am at the mercy of others and no matter how I personally feel about these others – my best defense is no defense. This means it behooves me to remain silent in these situations. I was a bit upset even border-line angry, but I bit down hard on my tongue and said nothing. This was one of those uncontrollable situations and the best approach was to let go and let God. I am most certainly human and prone to those human emotions such as anger. It is good to know I have enough self-control to let it go. I did and had to laugh because my roommate was also involved. He and I had a great laugh later on playing back the incident.

There is nothing in the “rule-book” that states the inmates must be treated with respect at all times. Fortunately, all through this journey I have been treated with respect from all areas. There have been some circumstances where this respect fell by the wayside and as I look back I can pinpoint where it all stems from as it points to one source. I can do nothing about this source and I must take it just like everyone else. It really is a shame because one bad apple does spoil the bunch. Oh well, with 11 days and 1 wake up remaining, I will stand on my head if I was instructed. This too shall pass and it already has.

I made an impromptu visit with the counselor yesterday asking if my parole plans were available. These plans are sometimes available two weeks prior to the inmate’s release date and sometimes these plans are only available on the day of parole. I fall into the latter. It would be great to see these plans prior to my release, but whenever I see them they won’t change. The positive aspect was the counselor stated that AM paroling on the 27th and this is the only thing that matters. She confirmed my parole agent’s name which coincides with what my mother had discovered a few weeks ago. I am a bit wary of this system because things do go wrong. In my journey as I moved through the stages I was delayed at each interval. However, there will not be any more delays. My release date is February 27th at 8:00 am. I will be driving down the road with my wife at this date and time. This chapter will close and a new chapter will commence.

The evening temperature dropped below freezing and it was the coldest day of the week. Ice formed in many areas and it took awhile to warm up this morning during the early morning exercise session. I am making the most of the days I have remaining because it has been over one week since either my roommate or myself has taken a day off from exercising in the early morning. The cold temperature had me remaining in bed an extra few minutes. It is those few minutes which seemed to be the most difficult and once I got out of bed I was ready for the exercise session. I will miss these sessions with my roommate very much and I am so glad I changed my routine a few months ago so I could exercise with him. He is even helping me with stretching my forever tight hamstrings. Yesterday he helped me stretch further than I have been able to stretch in years. He also gave me a few other stretching exercises for my hamstrings. Now it is up to me to do these exercises which will certainly help loosen me up.

The early morning exercise was one of the better ones we have had in awhile. I am very fortunate to have found my roommate who has become a friend. I have 11 workouts – oh make that 12 – sessions remaining and I will cherish each one.

After the workout – it was on to my workday which was uneventful, but it is a Friday. I only have one more full work week remaining and it isn’t even a five day work wee with President’s Day on Monday. I will still clean the bathroom, but it will feel more like a weekend day than a workday. I do believe my replacement will be joining me sometime next week. This will give me company for my final work days. Today after cleaning the bathrooms, I went for a hike on the hill. This was one of my better hikes and I felt great. It was another great day through and through!