Lucy, I'm HOME!!!!!!

Well kittykats! It's been the longest 10 months of my life, but the nightmare is finally over! It seems so far away even now, as I sit in my friend's apartment listening to him mix some sick dub-step. Everything is the same here in Richmond. Same people, same places, same vibe. There is one major thing that has changed through this.

Me.

In some aspects it's for the better, but sadly a lot of things have changed for the worse. Prison does many things to your psyche. I'm going to try to explore all of this in upcoming posts. So to start I want to give my incarceration version of an Oscar speech.....

First of all to my mom and stepdad. If it wasn't for them I never would have made it, seriously. Constant letters, emotional and financial support. Anyone who says that you can do serious time without money is utterly full of crap. When I was in prison and had no internet access, I would send my mom status updates by snail mail and she would post them for me. Then she printed out my page and sent it to me so I knew what people were saying. I can't even tell you how much this helped me to hold on when my relationship with Chris was falling apart. I love you mom and dad!!!!

Next would be my faithful pen pal Jon Bottorff. He has done time before and understands how desperately lonely that it can get. I could count on getting a letter from him every single Friday, and it was a highlight to an otherwise shitty week. I hope someday that I can repay him for his kindness. He has been a friend since my punk rock teenage days, and he is a friend for life.

A thank you to Patrick who not only wrote every week, but helped with some necessary items when I got to work release. I'm sorry that I had to leave Indy before we got to spend more time together!

As screwed up as the majority of women were that I met while I was down, there were several that my life is better for having known. There are too many to list, but you know who you are!

Shawn and Ashley: I love you guys so very, very much! You have always had my back. When I returned after years of stupid drug abuse, you welcomed me back with open arms and never once questioned or judged me. You have given me a home and a stable base to start rebuilding my life on. I will never forget this and I will owe you forever.

To everyone else, I know that I was in your thoughts, and I thank you for all the good energy you sent.

I will soon get into all the dirt and give you an up close account of what prison is like. But next I will address what happened to what was once the center of my life, Chris. It is ugly and heartbreaking, but the healing process helped me to become stronger and more determined. Can't say I'll be nice though....

As always, thanks for listening and God bless!