The First Sober Birthday I've Had in 15 Years
I just turned 30 on Saturday, November 3rd and for once I wasn't hungover the day after. This time, instead of spending my birthday inside of bars, I spent it behind them. Well sort of. The minimum unit is a bit less hardcore than you might visualize, i.e. it’s mostly concrete and reinforced glass, but you know what I mean. Nevertheless, this birthday was extra special for several reasons. For one, I was starting a whole new decade. Secondly, I was starting a new life. And thirdly, I knew I would actually remember it! So here is the inside scoop on what went down for my 30th birthday bash.
Birthdays are a big deal in prison. Anytime an inmate celebrates their special day, people go out of their way to make the day memorable. I had already received a few birthday cards from friends and family in the mail, but because of the postal strike, others got held up. I didn't really care though because I love getting mail any day of the week. It’s like getting a birthday present every day, that's what's up! (As a funny aside, cards containing glitter won’t ever make it to inmates, that’s a definite no-no in prison. You can imagine how glitter might be used in all sorts of creative ways to send inmates presents).
When I woke up on my birthday, I headed downstairs to finish an article I was writing. As soon as I logged into the computer, one of the girls from the notorious Pod 1 brought me over a cupcake. Considering we had a major beef just a few weeks prior, and almost really got into it, this peace gesture was somewhat unexpected. But really nice. The beef was squashed right then and there as I ate the whole thing. Thankfully, the cupcake wasn't laced with any drugs or I would have been in it deeeeep. I decided that eating a cupcake for breakfast was okay for my birthday. Besides, many of the other inmates eat delicious cupcakes for breakfast all the time.
When I headed upstairs, my podmate Evie wouldn't let me in the kitchen. She was making me my birthday dinner and dessert. I kind of had an idea of what she was up to, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise. I acted none the wiser and scooted off to my room until family visits started. At 12:30, I got called down. My mom, dad, and younger sister Heather were all there. It was awesome. I felt so lucky to have a family that cared about me so much. They were so excited to see that I was doing so well and were really looking forward to my return home. Any gifts, including food, are prohibited so my dad got creative and made a cake shaped out of some baked veggie fries that you can buy from a vending machine outside of the visiting area. A nice creative touch!
After my visit was over, my "jail mama" Sandra told me that she was cooking dinner and to come down at 5 pm. She also said she was making me a cake; the big kind. Sandra and I used to live in the same pod, but now we didn't see each other as much. Nevertheless, over the past several months, whenever we did get a chance to spend time together, it was always a really good time. We are both firecrackers who can laugh at just about anything, and I know she really cares about me. I met her and another friend from our old pod and we had fish and chips. And chocolate cake. SO DELIGHTFUL. After dinner, she surprised me with a card that all the inmates had signed; this really touched me. I'm definitely keeping that card forever!
Now I had one problem though. I had another dinner coming up. After having eaten so much, how was I ever going to eat a second dinner?!? There would be some time to recover, I told myself, but it would have to be later that's for sure!
My second dinner started only an hour or so later but thankfully it was something delicious - pizza and panzerotti! There was so much food, we actually had to pack a lot of leftovers into our pod fridge. In fact, I still had leftover cake and pizza two days later! My insulin levels probably shot right through the roof, but IT WAS WORTH IT. Thank goodness for exercise at our humble little gym!
As anyone can imagine, I was in the best mood all day. I am usually in a good mood anyways, but being here in this unique setting really felt special. I had everyone around me wishing me happy birthday in their own way, and it evoked a sense of belonging that you wouldn't normally expect in a prison setting. Everyone really came together to make this day awesome for me. This birthday has been one of the most meaningful ones I've ever had; I'll never forget it. And I'll never forget the people who made it happen.
I LOVE YOU ALL