Excitement in Fir-28 Hope Treatment

Mike, Jana and I drove to see Cord on Saturday. Tay woke up sick again. We hope she is feeling much better now. We miss her sweet little voice asking "are we there yet?" It takes about 1 hour 10 minutes, unless of course, I am driving. Then we get there in record time. ha

Cord's lunch is from 11:00-11:30, but sometimes if we get there TOO early, they make us wait and tell us they are still in COUNT. I guess they think the inmates are going to make a run for it since they keep serving them the same disgusting food day after day. They do count them all three times a day to make sure noone has escaped.

So, we waited almost 40 minutes until they finally told us it was our turn to go up. Did I tell you that part of the building is under ground, so when we walk from the front building where they do their security check on us, then we go through the Beeper machine and then they manually unlock the door to go into the the hall up to the next building, (this is the part that is really underground and THUS very COLD if the temps dip outside_, before we go to where the cafeteria style tables are waiting for us with another set of guards, who we have become quite intimate friends with. (can you say run-on sentence? ha) They are rooting for Cord to stay out...They say...WE DON"T WANT HIM BACK HERE!! KEEP HIM OUT!" We told them, Cord pinky promised with us (about 10 times) that he will NEVER come back !

Anyway, we get a two hour visit and sometimes the time flies by (this usually corresponds with Cord's mood/attitude/verbosity, etc) and Saturday Cord was in a jovial almost giddy mood.

I know he is excited to start his life again. I know he can do it. We are excited for him too.

He started growing his beard on his birthday (Feb.6) and said he will not shave until he is FREE! whatever floats your boat. I guess we were glad Tay wasn't there as she does NOT like his beard at all and it is looking quite lumberjackish already! Jana told him to dye his eyebrows black to match that ebonychinnychin...it is really really black. He looks good but strange that our boy can grow such a thing and to have his bald pate to match...ha wonder if he can even grow hair anymore?

Cord chatted and chatted and tries not to show emotion, but I keep holding his hand/arm/face ha...mama's perogative...so he won't be touch deprived when he gets out. He is making a list of all the foods he wants to have and other experiences that he has so missed with his freedom taken away.

We talked to a lady on the way out. Her son is also in the HOpe treatment program but in a different unit. SHe said she knew people from Mapleton and when she told me their names, I said, "Oh small world! That is our bishop in Mapleton and his wife!" She said it was her sister. and another lady said "Oh I know the Heaps from Mapleton." I said, "well Kim is our Kim's friend from High school. We actually just saw her at our Kim's baby shower". I guess Elder Richard G. Scott's son is in Gunnison. We are in good company.

Thanks for thoughts and prayers on our behalf.