30 More Days of Grace

Life Lessons from Winnie the Pooh: I’m from the era of Saturday morning cartoons.  When we were kids, my brother and I would get up on Saturday mornings, park ourselves in front of the tv in our living room, and spend the morning watching Saturday morning cartoons because that was the only time cartoons were on and we were actually able to control the tv! Winnie the Pooh was always on, so we grew up with Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, Tigger, Christopher Robbin, and Owl.  Every episode of Winnie the Pooh involved the characters getting themselves into some type of trouble or trying to solve some type of problem. And, in every episode, Tigger was getting himself in some type of trouble, Winnie the Pooh was guilty by association, Eeyore was the nay-sayer cloaked in self-pity, and Owl was just waiting to bestow wisdom and advice on his friends. I think, if we take a minute to be a little self-reflective and introspective, we can all agree that...

Let Her Dance! I was sitting in church today, and there was a little girl in front of me, probably five or six years old.  When the lights dimmed and the band started playing, she hopped up and started dancing through her row. As we sang Great are you Lord , she danced.  She twirled and flowed, extending her arms, looking toward heaven, and dancing uninhibited as the picture of innocence and grace.   I saw her mom doing that thing we do as mothers, watching, waiting, trying to determine when to intervene.  And, secretly, I prayed that her mom would just let her dance. Toward the end of the song, I noticed her mom getting a little fidgety, glancing over at her daughter more and more often.  By the end of the song, her mom had leaned over and whispered for the little girl to sit down. “No,” I thought, “let her dance!” As the second song started, the little girl glanced over at her mom and noticed she wasn’t paying attention, so up she sprang ...

Orange is, in Fact, NOT the New Black I walked into a birthday party a few days after getting out of prison, only to be met with shock--not because I was there, but because I was there and looked like a normal human being.  These were people I have known my whole life, and the consistent theme of the night was, “you look so good.” To be completely honest with you, I didn’t really think that much of it during the evening.  No, it wasn’t until I walked into church the next morning and again was met with the same looks of shock and the same comments of, “wow, you look so good.” Now, by this point, I have to admit, I started to get a bit of a complex.  I was definitely wondering how terrible I must have looked before I went to prison for everyone to be so amazed at the fact that I am tan, healthy, and rested!   And then it hit me. People were amazed at how I looked because, in reality, we have no idea what prison is actually like!  We know what...

Confession:  The Importance of Being Honest I’m a terrible liar. Seriously. An absolutely terrible liar. Now, I know what you’re thinking: This blog series is called “Lessons from Behind the Fence.”  You just got out of prison. How can you be a terrible liar?   Yes, yes, all those things are correct, but so is the fact that I am a terrible liar.  If I even try to lie, I get caught.  I had an affair.   I tried to lie.   I got caught.  And, honestly, if I could lie at all, I would never have even gone to prison!  Shoot, I was in the room with the detectives for less than 30 seconds before I completely told on myself.  And, just like in all the cheesy tv dramas, the detectives had nothing.   But they were great liars. And, I am a terrible liar. To be perfectly honest with you, though, I’m glad I’m a terrible liar.  It seems like everywhere I turn, I am faced with liars: in rela...