The Kendra's Journal Podcast

 

Mom spent a lazy weekend painting some “Texas Cowboys” that Mac made. There was still no word on a possible parole to NW Washington State, but she kept checking. Grandpa sent money for school clothes so we got to go shopping and an attorney was helping Mom look into a case that might have helped Mac’s parole move forward. He ended up getting a major write-up and had to have a hearing because he was accused of working in the prison shop unsupervised. Mom had a possible job lined up and she planned a trip to Bend to get our things out of storage to complete the move back to Walla Walla. We also talk about Betamax, Whoopi Goldberg, and Teenwolf… What more can we say? Mac got approved for a transfer to Spokane to be evaluated for a program but had to zig zag across the state instead of just the 100 miles from Walla Walla. Mom also went to a palm reader, yes… a palm reader.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_152.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

The wiring burned up in our car on the way back to Bend from Walla Walla. Mom got help getting the car running, but it made starting and stopping the car difficult. Mom decided to put our stuff into storage and move us back to Walla Walla. Once we got moved back Mom dealt with Mac and legal issues. Mom was looking into the possibility of parole for Mac in northwest Washington. There were a couple of very big gaps in Mom’s writing because life was so busy. Mom found another new lawyer who might have been able to help get things moving on the parole. Mom turned 28 with little or no celebration… who had time for that? We went to church camp; it was weird. Technically, we were homeless all summer, so we (Phillip and Mat) bounced around a lot between family and sometimes “camped” until Mom was able to rent a house and we started school.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_151.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

We were headed north again to visit family and Mac. He was anxious because of the recent parole denial to Christmas Valley but Mom found another attorney willing to help. Money was tight but Mom was pulling together what we needed. Our car wasn’t doing great either but it got us where we needed to be. After heading back south we had to finish moving out of Christmas Valley and into Bend. The weekend trips became the “norm” and we were spending more time in the car than our apartment. Mom spoke with the parole officer in Bend to get a better understanding of what it would take to get accepted there. Us boys were missing A LOT of school with all the moving and traveling between Central Oregon and Walla Walla. Mom found out the program in Bend Mac would be required to attend wouldn’t accept him. This meant that, even though we’d just moved INTO Bend, we would be moving OUT of Bend since he couldn’t be paroled there. Phillip relates his worst school experience ever, well… until student loans.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_150.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

We got back to Christmas Valley from visiting Mac in Walla Walla and Mom wrote about doing it again the following weekend.  She was concerned about all of Mac’s demands that we visit and that Mom also make progress on getting him paroled. She hoped he wouldn’t hold things against her for them taking so long. In three weeks we drove 2425 miles and had even more to go. After word of Mac’s parole being officially denied and another weekend trip to Walla Walla, Mom started planning a move to Bend. This, of course required a lot more time on the road to find a rental and move, again. We found an apartment to rent in Bend so we were getting out of Christmas Valley! Mom said we were also being brats lately and couldn’t wait to get us back in school. Also because we were missing A LOT of school. She was also worried about what our income would look like once Mac was out and dreamt of a business setup that would allow them to do what they wanted rather than just work regular jobs. Now that we were in Bend, Mom started gathering the information needed for a new parole plan. She hoped that Mac would be out before his next birthday at the end of May. Mat shares one of his scariest childhood memories.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_149.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

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