Being in prison away from our families is very difficult, more so on those we have left behind to wait for us to come back home. To the many of us who are husbands and parents it is doubly hard, we are not available or easily accessible for our spouses and kids in their times of need. We are no longer around them on a usual routine basis. Those of us who have young children it has to be even more difficult, missing out on watching their lives take shape and to be there to help shape their futures. Missing significant parts of their lives as they grow up can’t be easy. This time can’t be replaced and this gap can’t be filled.
Wives need their husbands and children need their fathers. Many of the families manage to come for visits and have a chance to see each other, but there are many where that is not possible, due to distance, logistics or money. It's very sad that the families can’t see one another. I know how helpless we feel when we hear of a child of ours needing our help and we can’t be there for them. A phone call and an email are not always sufficient and this is just not the way families are supposed to function. But we all do our best and hope that the time away and apart does not do damage beyond repair. But there is always collateral damage and this is sad and many times unavoidable. Prison is supposed to punish the prisoner, but it seems to me that the prisoner's family suffers far more.
