With Rejection Comes Certainty

Not sure where to start with this one, it has been a while since my last post because I have been mulling over the events of the last month and trying to make peace with them. 

My husband had put in his written request to be considered for the other halfway house in this district and we had hopes that all would turn out in our favor.  He finally got his answer and it was not as we had hoped.  He had been approved by the BOP (Bureau of Prisons) to go to a halfway house in early December, pending approval of a halfway house.  The halfway houses both came back with an answer of no.  We do not know why they rejected his request, it could be for any number of reasons, but whatever the reasons, it did not make the news any better.

I actually took the news much better than I would have expected a few months ago, and for some reason my immediate response was one of calm and intelligence.  Immediately I started thinking and planning for his actual release date.  Since he did not get any halfway house time he will need to stay there until his official release date.  That means though, that on his release date, I can pick him up at the gate and drive him anywhere we want to go. 

The halfway house would have been wonderful to have him back in the area, but it also came with a tremendous amount of uncertainty like; how close to his December date could they get him in?  how long before he would be given some freedoms? how long would he staying there? and any number of other questions that could not be answered until we went through everything.  But now, there is a certainty to the end of this phase.  On a Friday morning in June, I will get to drive up to the correctional center and wait for him to walk out the door and get in the car so we can drive away.  Ultimately we will get to come right home and be a family again.  I know when it will happen, I know how it will happen and I can now make plans for the time leading up to the release and for the time after.  It would have been nice to have him close by for the holidays and all the upcoming spring events but the thought of him being able to come home far outweighs any disappointment with waiting a few more months.  In reality, it works out to waiting just another 6 months before he can come home.

As of this moment, we have a little more than 7 months left.  It seems odd to finally be talking in terms of months instead of years.  So much will happen in those remaining seven months but thinking about the upcoming summer as a family, holidays together and what the future holds, 7 months is a small time to wait.