Calling an Inmate

I don't really like talking about it...  But, I need a place to vent, and I feel anonymous enough (and loved enough) here at Gather to talk about what is truly going on in my life.

My husband is in prison.  Don't ask why...  He's not a big creep or a child molester or anything...  He broke the law.  Period.

Anywho...

I miss him so much.  We are 3 months into a 1-year mandatory sentence.  He may or may not get "good time" for getting a job on the inside and doing well.  He may or may not get a "contact visit" for being a good boy, too.  Yep, that's right.  I have to talk to my love through glass...  :(

Him being in prison is hard enough, but my one biggest complaint about it all is the phone call situation.  It costs $18 per 15-minute call!!!!!!!!!!  Yes!  It is absolute highway robbery.  I understand that he is in prison, and it's not supposed to be a nice place, and the point of it all is to keep him away from the outside world...

But, the whole expensive phone call thing sort of punishes the family members and loved ones of inmates the most.  I have to spend $50 for three 15-minute phone calls with him.  It is so hard and so heartbreaking.  At the beginning of the call, all you can think is that the timer has started.  In the middle of the phone call, you talk about 60 miles per hour to get everything in.  At the end of the phone call, when that horrible lady's voice comes on and says, "you have 60 seconds remaining," all you can think is that 15 minutes is nowhere near long enough.  After the call, you think about how expensive that call was and how long you have to wait in between calls, just to be able to afford it all.

I have been extremely depressed the past couple of weeks because I have been in a bind when it comes to money.  I have JUST enough to pay the bills here at our townhouse, the car payment, etc.  I have JUST enough.  But, finding an extra $50 per week is just almost impossible for me.  :(  I haven't talked to my husband since Thanksgiving day.  I miss him so much.

So, I was wandering around a forum for loved ones who have people incarcerated, and I found some people talking about a company called Vumber.  Vumber gives you a telephone number from any location in the continental US for a monthly fee of $9.99.  So, if you get a Vumber, then set up the pre-paid account through the company the prison uses, you can hopefully get collect calls that are charged locally!  This plan could possibly save me hundreds of dollars!  It will go down to $2.90 per phone call!!!!!  OMG!  When I found all of this out, I practically danced around the room with glee!  This could mean that for the same amount of money I am paying out now, I could actually talk to him every day for 15 minutes!

This is the absolutely best present I could have gotten this Christmas (besides him walking out of there, of course)!  I know it probably sounds silly that just a reduction in the bill would get me so excited, but it's hard to explain how anxious and depressed I have been over the whole phone situation.  I feel guilty when I can't put money in our account.  I feel sad when I have to go a week without talking to him.  I feel stressed out trying to Macguiver (sp?) the money each week.  I have sold some of my jewelry.  I have gotten a second job.  I have cut off the cable.  I have done so many things to cut corners without his income helping us.  I won't even be able to buy Christmas presents for my family this year.  But, maybe with this new reduction in the phone costs, I will at least be able to do SOMETHING besides sit in the house and be sad.

I know some of you may say, well, too bad, he's in prison, he shouldn't even get phone calls.  And to you, I say...  Walk a mile in my shoes...  In my husbands shoes...  before you judge.  Try not talking to the person that you love the most in the world.  Try being shocked and left to fend for yourself suddenly with no help and not understanding the court systems or lawyer jargon.  Try sleeping each night fearing for your loved one's safety.  It's absolute hell on earth, and those 15 minutes we get to talk are like a tiny slice of heaven.  The difference between seeing "I love you" written in a letter and hearing "I love you" come from their sweet mouth is astronomical.

Thanks for listening everyone!  Just wanted to share my semi-good news.  Keep your fingers crossed for me that the new phone set-up works and saves me TONS!