I thought I would catch you all up on Cameron this week. I want to thank all of you who inquire about him and I am happy to relay how he is doing. I pass along your hellos and well-wishes.
He has now been in prison for 2 1/2 years and it seems like a lifetime. I can’t imagine how it feels to him.
He has gone through a lot of changes over the past several years. He has taken responsibility for his actions and seems to realize the way the world works. It isn’t always fair and things aren’t always the way they are “supposed” to be. He also sees that careful consideration must be given to most decisions.
After a long hiatus from classes and other activities because of a behavioral issue, Cameron is now taking a full-time horticulture class, teaching CPR and is on the inmate American Red Cross Board, serving as vice president. The funny thing about that is he was afraid to take the president position because he didn’t know if he could handle all the work. He didn’t realize that often, the vice president has more responsibilities than the president. He now has stacks of paperwork to fill out and make sure it is filed correctly and gets sent on to the proper people. Mom and I both got a good laugh out of that one. If he would have only asked, we could have told him how that works. He’s still learning.
He got his CPR certification and instructor’s license about a year ago and then the state board of corrections decided that there wasn’t enough money or whatever and the program was sidelined. About a month ago, it started back up. He teaches CPR to other inmates in different cell blocks and is also certified in first aid and can and is obligated to assist others in those kinds of situations. He was really proud of his certificates and mailed them home to me.
I was glad the program is back. He had worked really hard to complete the course and pass all the exams. It seemed like it was a step back when the program was cut. Cameron was familiar with the one-step-forward, two-step-back scenario. It was like he wrote the book. It was very disappointing for him to have given something his all only to have it taken away. A life lesson.
Next spring, he can also start back up with college courses and as of now, he plans to.
He is also on the waiting list for a victims’ awareness program. Completion of the course will help when he comes up for judicial release. It will improve the likelihood of him getting out in five years instead of six. He continues to get “good days” or time off his sentence for taking the horticulture classes and when he starts back to college, that will earn him days as well.
He has also been giving a lot of thought to what he will do when he is released. There is a process for that as well. It really isn’t like it is on TV. You don’t just walk out the door with your brown paper sack full of stuff and fade into the sunset. There are all kinds of strings attached when you leave. But at least he is thinking about it. He has goals and is doing a lot of things now that will help work toward them.
I see a little light at the end of the tunnel for the first time in a long time. Although he is in prison, he is making better decisions and working toward making himself a better person. I’m not sure that would have happened had things not turned out the way they did. Cameron was a train wreck waiting to happen and all we could do was watch.
Sometimes people need a “big” wake-up call. They have to learn things the hard way. No one can tell them what’s up and they don’t need your advice.
Well, Cameron asks a few more questions now before he does things. He watches other people and sees things he didn’t used to. He’s growing up into quite the young man. I just wish he could have done it somewhere else.