First Day of Yraida's Furlough

Happy New Year to all of you. Yes I had a wonderful Christmas. I must confess to you that the days before my furlough I could hardly sleep. I was anxious, but mostly I was afraid to be like a foreigner to my family and my sons; however the minute that I walked out of prison they made me feel like I had never left them. I am immensely greatful and thankful to my family; if there is something that I have learned in prison, it is the value of a family. My family has been my back bone during my 10 grim years of incarceration, they have helped me keep the bond with my sons. They have allowed me to participate and be aware of every detail of my son's lives. I believe that is the main reason why I did not feel like a foreigner with my family. I can not express with words how amanzingly greatful I am to have them. They made my 36 hour furlough a thrilling and joyful experience full of love and happiness. They made sacrifies to make me feel like the most loved mom, daughther, sister, in law and friend; each one of them had a surprise for me during the entire 36 hours. My brother recorded a few CDs with all my favorite songs; as soon as I got in the rental car, he played my favorite songs. My youngest sister used her job's bonus to buy me in-styled cloths (too much styled for me) my special sister (Briglig) did not buy anything for herself this christmas and bought my favorite perfume, body lotion and body powder. She cooked some of my favorite dishes. My other sister had my son's clothes cleaned and organized and made sure that every detail went on as planned, also that everything in the rented apaartment was clean and spotless just the way I liked. My brother in law took care of my favorite treat to myself: a bath-tub with bubbles and scented oil, candles and music; he also made special snacks, took pictures and videos and play our family favorite games. My poor mother has been making so many sacrifies for me and my sons that there is no way that I could ever repay her. She made me Hallacas ( a venezuelan dish) the way I use to eat it at home. She was always asking me if I was happy and if I was satisfied with their agenda. Yes as usual she gave me my surprise christmas' present, but she did not place it under my bed; she asked my sons to give it to me. I was not separated from my sons and from my nephfews (8 and 5) for the entire 36 hours (only when I took a shower) We went on a swing set, stay in the hot jacuzzi, we made christmas cards for all my family members; we watched T.V; we read books; we danced, we listened music and we talked a lot. I hugged and kissed the 4 of them all the time and the did the same to me. I ironed my son's cloths, helped them to get dressed, fixed their foods and much much more. The most precious moment was during our chritsmas dinner around 12 midmight, after one of the boys gave thenks for the food, I proceeded to give thanks to my family (speed that I prepared about 3 months ago) and each one of them also gave thanks to me. The last one was my youngest son Jeswil, he was sitting next to me; he is only 10 and he said: "mommie I want to thanks you because you gave me the most important thing in this world 'my life' ; I am grateful that you choose to bring me into this world, and I am grateful for having you as my mommie and my family". everyone of us cried. I hugged him very hard and told him that I was proud of him for being so wise at such an early age. When we went to sleep, I crawed on the bed first and they came to me and grabbed me like when they were babies, before saying our good night prayer, I told Jeswil that I was very proud and also amazed of his speech he said: "mommie I mean it from my heart, there are women who kill their babies by abortion and you loved me since I was inside your womb". WOW! I was even more amazed. Yrwil hugged me and fell asleep on my chest and Jeswil fell asleep on my back; just like when they were babies. I thanks God for so much love. Yraida