How to Marry Your Prison Fiancé

There is a high divorce rate with couples where the partner is in prison for more than a year. Before taking that next step make sure that you are willing to spend the rest of your life with this person even if they are in prison. There are a lot of legal transactions that need to take place in order to marry a prisoner.

Here are some of the steps you may need to take and some tips you may use along the way.

1. Regulations. There are various regulations in order to marry a prisoner, these vary by institution.
2. Requesting a Marriage Packet. Have your prison fiancé make a request for the marriage packet. Both of you will need to complete the forms. Once the forms are completed there is usually a fee, this varies by institution approximately between $150-$175, which will need to be sent to the prison facility where your fiancé is located.
3. Necessary Documentation. You will need proof that you are of the legal age to marry, usually a state ID or driver’s license, proof of legal citizenship, and your birth certificate. Make sure to gather all necessary documentation prior to getting married, you can call the institution and ask for what is required.
4. Coordination of Ceremony. You will need to find out with whom you need to arrange the wedding, usually this is done by the visitation coordinator.
5. Choosing a Pastor for Ceremony. You should be able to obtain a list of pastors to choose from for the marriage ceremony. You will have to prepare in advance and find out exactly what you will need in order to be ready both for the ceremony and the cost expense of it.
6. Other Costs. Make sure to find out the charge for all costs, cover your boundary for everything and prepare for all the expenses for the marriage.
7. Your Witness. You will need to make sure to have a witness, someone who is already on the approved visitation list for your fiancé. The witness will need to arrive with you the day of the ceremony.
8. Alone Time. Being together alone on the day of the ceremony with your prison fiancé will all depend on the facility regulations. They may allow you time after the ceremony for taking pictures or possible some private alone time. You need to check and/or make arrangements for that for the day of the ceremony.

Tips

1. You can find information through the prison chaplain on how to get married.
2. Make sure that you know who is the prisoner you are marrying, if you have only known this prisoner through email or snail mail, be careful.
3. Make sure you know the role you play and how difficult it is to be married to a prison inmate.
4. Gain a full understanding of the changes that both of you will have to make upon the release of your spouse from prison. There are some major changes that both of you will be face with making in order for your relationship to work both inside and outside of prison.
5. If you know that your love for your prison fiancé is real, then you know you can wait to get married, it is not recommended to get married to a prison inmate.

Prepare yourself if wanting to your prison fiancé, there are a lot of changes and much understanding that is needed in knowing what it is to being a prison inmate’s spouse. Make sure to do it right the first time so that no one gets hurt in the end.

It takes a strong woman to be a supportive prison fiance. You need a support system that includes people who understand your unique needs. Renee Patterson is a prison fiance and prison daughter who writes stories dedicated to the prison love we all know so well. Check out some of her ebooks about prison love.

Having a Prison Boyfriend

My fiancé is in prison…

Let’s take a look at a recent interview that I did with a lady named Courtney and her experience with having a fiancé in prison.

Hi, says, Courtney, let me take a minute to introduce myself, my name is Courtney, and I have a prison fiancé. When I met Nick I knew that he was on probation and he needed to stay on the straight path, or things could get very ugly for both of us. I wanted to make sure that the person with whom I fall in love with, that we would have a future together. And through all this confusion, I have to think about my three year old son and where he fits into all this. My fiancé painted a pretty picture of love for both my son and myself, telling us how much he loved us and that he would do anything for us. As time passed, he showed the new person that he had become and that he was not the same person as before. He showed us that he would do anything for us, there was nothing that he would not do for us.

Here is Courtney’s portrayal of how it all happened, she says, when we went to a gathering at his step mother’s house, a friend of Nicks ex-girlfriend recognized him and pushed him into a pool, ruining he brand new iPhone. Nick came out of the pool, upset and furious. When he completely was out of the pool, the two of them started fighting with each other, the police were called, and they both were arrested and taken to jail.

Courtney says, her fiancé is now behind bars for between 3-6 years, depending on what they give him at sentencing. Two-weeks have passed and it has been so hard, the hardest thing that I have had to deal with in my entire life time.

Courtney explains how she tries to cope with him being away, she says, I do things at home to be closer to him, like, sleep on his side of the bed, wear his clothes, eat and drink the foods that he likes. Everywhere I look and all that I do reminds me of him. Lots of friends and family tell me he is only gone for now, it’s not like he is dead. The pricing on the collect calls is outrageous, so we rarely get to talk with each other, we do not get to even see each other, and we do not get to hold each other. I think that the hardest part about all this is that my son looked at him as a father, and at night when I have to comfort him it is very hard, not only for myself, but even harder to understand for a child. The three of us a happy little family and when he called him dad it would make my heart melt even more. My son keeps asking the same questions to me the ones that I am trying to figure out for myself, “when will we get to see my daddy?”. The night time is the hardest when it is quiet, that is when I think of and miss him the most. I want to spend and intend to be with Nick for the rest of my life, leaving him is not the answer for me. I love him with all my heart, but there is a part of me that is scared, too. He is scared that me being alone will make me want to be with someone else, but how can you do that to someone you love and cannot stop thinking about. I feel so hurt, and it is tearing me up inside.

This interview touched my heart as it shows a time in one’s life of great need and sadness, and learning how to survive in this type of situation is most important.

If you have a boyfriend in prison, you need all the support you can get. Here are some great ebooks by Renee Patterson written for people with prison boyfriends.

How to Order a Birth Certificate for a Fiancé in Prison

Prisoners are very limited to what they can do when on the inside in order to obtain personal items, money and documents and may need help from friends and family. Trying to get their birth record certificate usually involves phone and internet research, which is difficult to access when on the inside. You as a fiancé, friend or family member are able to petition for a birth record on behalf of a prisoner through your local vital statistics office in state of birth. The process is not hard as there are specific guidelines for making a petition, your petition can be stopped and possibly returned, if not submitted properly. Let’s take a look at the steps for requesting a Birth Record Certificate for a prison fiancé or inmate.

Steps for Requesting an Inmate Birth Certificate

Step 1 – Determine the location of the office of vital statistics where you need to obtain the birth record. You can check with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to help with finding which vital statistics office you need to contact.

Step 2 – Communicate by visiting the website or your local vital statistics office or for the guidelines on requesting the birth record. The information that required, includes: full name – first, middle and last, parent’s names – make sure to also obtain mother’s maiden name, date of birth, hospital name, and birth city.

Step 3 – Make a letter explaining your request. Most times because you are making the request for the birth record on behalf of your fiancé, a friend or family member that is in prison, make sure to include your relation to that person, explaining that this person is not able to request this info for themselves.

Step 4 – Send out your letter making sure to state your request, including all necessary information. Make sure to also include any fee, current address and phone number contact information. Depending on the distance from the vital statistics office, you should be able to get this information in person.

Step 5 – Send the birth record to the fiancé, friend or family member in prison once received. Make sure not to break any prison rules for sending this information to the prisoner. You can find those rules on the specific prison location for where the prisoner is at.

Warnings & Tips

If the inmate who requested from you the birth certificate will not need the original birth record, send a Xerox copy of the original record. Many prisoners stay in shared cells with another inmate, so belongings can be removed or stolen. It is safer to lose the copy then have to lose the original and go through the process all over again.

Make to ask for an original copy from the vital statistics office, some offices will only send an abbreviated copy, unless otherwise requested.

If you're a prisoner's fiance, it takes a lot of outside support to keep you strong for the man you love. Check out some of these Renee Patterson ebooks. They were written by a prisoner's daughter and prisoner's fiance who understands the value of prison love.

Guest Blog Posts Wanted

In an effort to provide more quality content for this blog, I'm seeking guest blog posts from prison wives, prison fiances and prison girlfriends. If you're a prison husband or prison boyfriend, I'd like to hear from you too!

Posts can be about your relationship, obstacles you deal with as a prisoner lover, prison related articles or current events, just about anything related to prisons and prison life as a prison loved one.

Be a Guest Blog Poster

I will be posting more details soon. But, in the meantime, if you're interested, post a comment here with the following information:

1. Your prison title: wife, husband, fiance, boyfriend, girlfriend...
2. How long you've held that title.
3. The state(s) where you and your prison loved one are located.
4. How often you can post 250-600 word blog posts.

Other Prison Loved Ones

This position is only for prison lovers. If you'd like to provide guest posts as a child (prison daughter, prison son, prison step-child) of a loved one, please visit the Prisoner's Daughter blog. This blog is seeking guest posts as well.

If you'd like to provide guest posts as any other prison loved one (prison mother, prison father, prison sister, prison brother, prison uncle, prison aunt, prison cousin, etc...) or a prison advocate or company that sells prison related products or services, please visit the Prison Rideshare Network blog.

My True Prison Love Story

My true story has been published in an ebook. It was written by Renee Patterson, who did a wonderful job of telling my story exactly how I wanted it told. It you're interested in reading my true life prion love story, you can download the ebook "Another Sappy Love Story - Full Circle Prison Love" for the full story for Amazon Kindle or Barnes and Noble Nook. The shorter version, "Another Sappy Love Story - The Beginning" is free on Amazon for the rest of this weekend. Download it now and tell me what you think.

CA Prisoners Started Being Transferred to CA County Jails

CA Prison Transfers Started Monday

Last Monday, October 3^rd, CDCR began transferring California state prisoners to California county jails across the state. Prisoners who were transferred, were sent to county jail facilities local to their home towns. Upon release, they will be released to the custody of local county probation officers. This is a far cry from being released to CA state parole officers.

CA Prison Realignment

These transfers are part of a plan put into place by California State Governor Jerry Brown, in an effort to reduce the CA prison population by 11,000 inmates by January. This plan is just the beginning of a complete plan to “realign the criminal justice system”, as ordered by the US Supreme Court last spring. This phase of the realignment only refers to the following California state prisoners:

• Considered low-level prisoners
• Convicted of non-violent offenses
• Convicted of non-sex-related offenses
• No history of spousal abuse convictions
• No convictions of any type of crimes against children

CA Prison Rumors

My fiance tells me that there are plans being made to turn some prisons into California pre-release prisons. The purpose of pre-release prisons is to help prisoners that are soon to be released transition back into society. According to him, prisoners from Southern California will be transferred to Lancaster and Chino. I completely forget where those from Northern California will be going.

Realignment - Phase 2

I guess this would be considered the 2^nd phase of the plan. Prisoners sent to pre-release prisons will spend a certain amount of time there, as a low-level offenders. These are the prisons they will be released from when their time comes.

Coming Soon

I cannot wait until one of these phases finally trickles over into our lives. My Boo fits the criteria for the low-level early release programs. At some point, I expect to get a call from him saying that he has been transferred to Lancaster, which is where I'm moving next month, or Chino, less than 40 miles from Los Angeles.

In the meantime, every single morning, I check the CDCR Inmate Locator to make sure he is still in Avenal State Prison. The day I see anything different, will be one of the happiest days of my life. It will mean that he is official IN the CA Prison Early Release Program, and he will be coming home soon.

More Information

Want more details on this phase of the CA Prison Realignment Reform. Read California Prisoners Started Moving to County Jails.

Check out my favorite blogs:

http://prisonersdaughter.blogspot.com

http://reneepattersonwrites.blogspot.com

http://kieshajoseph.blogspot.com

It May be Sooner Than We Thought

My boo just may be getting closer to home even sooner than we both thought. CDCR is set to begin releasing state prison inmates to the custody of our county jail systems on October , 2011. That's on 12 more days from now!

This new process is supposed to help with the CA prison overcrowding problem that the federal government ruled must be cleaned up in the next two years. This "shifting of the guards" action only affects low-level prisoners doing time for low-level offenses that are in no way sex-related or child-related.

As a prison fiance, this could have a great impact on my future, especially since my prison husband-to-be is classified as a low-level prisoner:

1. The love of my life could be released to an LA county jail facility as early as 12 days from now.
2. For me, him being in the county jail means a much shorter traveling distance to visit him on the weekends.
3. For him, being in the county jail system means he may be released from prison much sooner than we thought due to the LA county jail system's overcrowded conditions.
4. If by some slim chance, he were to make a very simple, low-level mistake later, he would be sentenced to a short time in a CA county jail on a probation violation, instead of being sent back to a CA prison for a parole violation.

I would like to say that I pray that he gets out as early as the 1st. But, I don't. I actually pray that God keeps him safe and sane until whatever date He feels should be the true release date. But, I do have hope, though. This new CA prison news gives me hope that no matter when my boo is released, there's a large possibility that he won't have to be released as a CA state parolee. That's every ex-offenders nightmare.

Want to know more about these upcoming changes? Read "CDCR Changes for Low-Level Prisoners" at the Prison Rideshare Network Blog now.

The Social Effects of Having Loved Ones in Prison

Life has its highs and lows. There are things that chance into our lives that we never bargained for from the outset. A typical example could be having a flat tire while running to make it to a job interview on time. But, if for any reason, one finds his freedom confined within the walls of a prison, the effects are really devastating. 

It is really sad that one’s freedom can be taken away from him for one or more reasons. Honestly, I am not trying to stand for or against the legal system that upholds jail sentences. But, I am trying to x-ray the effects of such a sentence on a person with regard to his family members and friends. I think that is where it really hurts. 

 

Now, there are many prisoners who probably left behind their wives and kids. Even if the wife of a prisoner has the inner strength to stay without the man, what about the raising of their kids? Raising children is never meant for a single parent. The challenges involved are enormous. Sometimes, the kids end up in foster homes. Yes, it is true that these kids can receive proper nurturing in such environments, but that of his parents can never be equaled by any other. 

 

Statistics reveal that most children who end up gangsters and prostitutes are traced to dysfunctional homes. There is the role of a parent, even though he may not be morally perfect, that the child needs. The fact that dad is around has a way of shaping the life of kids. A recent documentary by CNN titled; “American Al-Qaida”, tells the story of how a young American lad joined the Al-Qaida network after mom and dad separated. The picture is no different when mom or dad is confined within prison walls. They are separated, and the frustration gets deeper and lethal.

In addition, friends of prisoners suffer a lot, too. In a friendship, everyone brings something to the table. Friendship is like parts of our body. Each differs from the other, but in all, they are best of friends with a single purpose. Once a finger is bad it could affect even the head. So, when someone is imprisoned, his friends suffer. They are denied the warmth and fellowship of a noble friend. For some prisoners who had pen-friends before the jail sentence, imagine the endless letters going out without a single reply coming in. Worse still, if the prisoner was addicted to social sites, such as Facebook, it will hit his friends hard on the network as they keep sending messages and postings without any replies or “likes.” 

 

Such is what people go through just for one man in jail. He is not the only one bearing the burden. In fact, some families bear more than the prisoner does. It is really a breaking time for friends and family members who have someone spending a while behind bars. And the heater turns on during birthdays of their loved ones in prison. Friends and relations would love to gather and celebrate with him. But such can only exist in the realm of wishful thinking. Being in prison is a hard knock on both sides. But courage and faith surely conquer.

By Renee Patterson

http://reneepattersonwrites.blogspot.com

My Life is NOT Depressing

I finally saw my boo yesterday. It had been almost two months. I had some medical problems that had me on crutches. But, the crutches were by choice, not subscribed by a doctor. Because of that, I was unable to take the crutches into the prison. So, I had to wait until I was better to visit.

I guess that's why, for the first time, I cried when it was time to leave. I didn't even cry the first time I visited. But, this time was different. I missed him so much. I had never gone over three weeks without visiting him. It had been two whole months.

After our ritualistic game of scrabble, (I beat, as usual), we just sat for awhile. We enjoyed just holding hands and the stillness. Yes, stillness. There's a stillness that is creating by most prison couples in love at some point in a visit. It comes at a moment when you realize that the time to leave is within the hour.

That moment of stillness is created by couples who have a very high intimacy level between them. It gives them the power of shutting out the rest of the world. At that moment, you are the only two people in the room, in the world. It's not a sexual moment, in anyway. It's an intimate moment where your hearts start to beat together, you can hear each others' breaths, and that small physical gesture (something as simple as holding hands) is your greatest pleasure at that moment. You just look into each others' eyes, and let them do the talking. And, trust me, during those moments of stillness, your eyes can say it all.

Our moment of stillness lasted a very long time yesterday. It was finally interrupted by guard I like to call Richard Rimirez (He's my fave, in spite of the ugly nickname.). Our visit was over. Time to go. It took all I had not to cry like a baby. Maybe had I been watching the clock, like any other time, I wouldn't have been caught off guard. But, he interrupted our moment. And, that made me sad. So, I cried (but not like a baby. lol.).

Someone asked me the other day if this ever gets depressing. I told him no. But, thinking about yesterday, I had to revisit that question. I must say no again. I love this man. We have a connection that is unbreakable. Our bond has lasted for over 20 years. Do certain aspects of being in love with a prisoner make me sad or even frustrated sometimes? Of course. I'd be lying if I said no. But, is it depressing? Impossible.

This is the life I was given. I have to make the best of it. I actually like my life because I like who it made me out to be. Because, I like me. So, no, it's not depressing simply because I have been lucky enough to find a great best friend, who ended up being the love of my life. I have found my soulmate. He is my happiness.

Thanks for listening.
The Prisoner's Fiance

Don't forget to check out the update to my blog dedicated to being "The Prisoner's Daughter"!

Introducing the Prison Websites Affiliate Program

Thank you for visiting my blog. I am proud to announce that I am starting an affiliate network specifically for Websites and blogs related to prisons, prisoners, prison-life, prison reform, etc...

My Reason

I am creating this network simply because I cannot find one like this to join myself. Affiliate marketing programs such as CJ, Linkshare, & Google networks are all great, UNLESS your site is related to prisons. There are very few links that I have found to be relevant to sites like ours. If you do find an affiliate that may work, (IE, online greeting cards, phone companies, etc...) they are bound to decline you as a network member because they simply don't see how their product is relevant to your Website or blog.

With this network, all backlinks will be relevant to your prison-related site!

My Current Ideas

• Below are some ideas I have in mind for launching and promoting this program. 
• This will be a paid-program. The cost will be very affordable. I'm thinking somewhere between $5-$20 per month to remain in the program.
• 50% of all proceeds made from this program will go towards the purchase of my mom's quarterly packages.
• Anyone who has a prison related site will be approved, as long as the site is not an adult site, hate-site or down right distasteful.
• Once you become a member, you will have access to banners and affiliate links to all of the prison related sites in our network.  
• The Website itself will feature quality backlinks to all members' Websites and blogs.

Click here to read the benefits of having backlinks to your site.

Site Pages

• The home page will contain blog updates of new members, their company info, Website info, etc...
• There will be page categories that will be customized to ensure that all members are placed in a category that makes sense.
• Each Regular Member's site will be featured in the appropriate category.
• Premium members will also have their own page that will profile their company and link to their own Website.

Interested?

Click here to complete the questionnaire. 

You are not signing up for anything. This questionnaire is just to give me an idea of how many people may be interested and what they need.

Send me an email at: prisonrideshare@gmail.com

Post to my FB page or send me a PM at: http://on.fb.me/iO4Zv0

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Betrayal is Not an Option

It's been a long couple of months. I'm not sure what happened to cause so much confusion between My Boo and I, but I sure am glad we're past it.

One day, out the clear blue sky, he just started acting funny towards me. The letters stopped altogether. And, when we were on the phone, he seemed so distant, and annoyed. For about a week, I just chalked it up to "prison blues" and kept doing me. Eventually, he started asking me the same question everyday, "Do you have something you want to tell me"? I knew in my heart what that meant. But, I am a certified denial queen. So, I just kept telling him no and acting like nothing was wrong.

The next thing I knew, we were in the middle of the second argument of our relationship. It got much worse than it should have mostly because I was so insulted that this man was accusing me of betraying him, but giving me no details whatsoever. After he hung up in my face, that's when the texting war between us began (Yes, texts).After texting back and forth for hours, he finally gave me enough information to at least have an idea as to why we were arguing. I could not believe this man, the love of my life, was accusing me of being unfaithful to him, based on some "call-home, he-say-she-say" from someone who does nothing for him.

After taking time to calm down, I prayed on the situation. God told me, "Don't let go." So, that's what I decided. I was not going to abandon him like everyone else had over the years. I called, text, left voicemails... I did whatever it took to remind this truly good man that I, not his little birdy, am the one who has his back 100%. I had to reassure him that I, his soulmate, would never betray him... ever!

I never felt any anger towards him during all of this. All I felt was compassion. I realized then that this was a very strong man who had truly been wounded by his current situation. Not only is he in prison for a crime committed by a family member, but he's been doing his time alone, with no one to truly count on. He had put up walls over the years that I, personally, as his best friend, have never had to tear down. But, now, as his woman, the expectations are higher, which scared him at some point. So, his human nature told him that it would be easier to just walk away now than to take a chance of me betraying him later. In his words, "That would be devastating"!

It takes a real man to admit when he's scared. Once I was able to get that out of him, I was able to reassure him that this is the life for me. I chose this life, the life of The Prisoner's Fiance, because he is the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. I would never betray him. He is my world. As I tell him all the time, his last name will be on my tombstone. I cannot wait to be his wife. Betrayal is NOT an option!!!

Follow my tweets at: www.twitter.com/prisondaughter

Release Date Changes

On February 20, 2011, I received the tweet below from @madisonghope 

@PrisonDaughter will you share some more? What is a typical visit like with your fiance? When is his "out" date?

Well, @madisonghope, I would like to start by saying that prison visits are very rarely typical. One of the main goals of the CDCR is to make visiting as frustrating and time consuming as possible. This is to discourage us from visiting. As for myself, that will never happen. They can transfer him to an underground prison in Zimbabwe and I would still be there every Sunday, faithfully.

As far as his release date, well, that's a subject he and I just do not discuss much anymore. Officially, the latest release is January, 2014. But, due to the prison overcrowding conditions in California, many changes have taken place in 2011. The California Prison Reform policies have opened up new categories that will allow many inmates to be released earlier than originally expected.

The following are some of the categories that he has fallen under that have and may cut his time short:

• He has never been written up, which caused them to recalculate his "good time." (Yes, "good-time" is back!)
• He's a Level 1 prisoner, who actually works off the grounds. As time goes on, more L1 prisoners may be released early, as these prisoners are not considered to be "threats to society."
• He has already completed 70% of his maximum sentence. If overcrowding persists, the percentage of time serve may have to be lowered.

So far, in 2011 alone, my baby has received two notices informing him of new expected release dates, totaling about 15 months off of his time. He is also due to see his counselor for his annual review in the upcoming weeks. According to guards whose opinions he trusts, his counselor will probably give him even more time off and/or "good-time credits" due to his Level 1 status and good behavior.

So, with all that said, I will just say that he will be home sooner that we both anticipated. We have both agreed not to actual start calculating until he speaks to his counselor later this month. Our idea is that if the counselor deducts even more time, not that would be very exciting to calculate!

Fertility Issues - Having His Children

Every once in a while, I get a letter from my mom which contains a newspaper clipping or other information related to fertility. My mom has wanted to be a grandmother most of my adult life. Now that I am 40, she's going through a panic about me starting menopause recently. (See my blog "The Prisoner's Daughter" for more on my mother.)

I have always wanted children, all my life. I just never made it a priority in my life, mostly due to the fact that I was seeking a spiritually fulfilling relationship first. Now, things are complicated even more by the fact that I am in love with a man prison.

I am more in love with this man than I have ever been in my life. He is where my future lies. I plan to marry him as soon as possible. There is no other man that I would even consider having a child with. But, he still has a couple of years to go, while I continue to go through menopause.



We talked about this in depth a couple of weeks ago on a visit. It was almost cute for him to ask if there was a way that he could give me his sperm while still in prison. I felt so honored that he would even consider doing something like that. The ironic part is that I had already researched the subject and found that the Supreme Court has already ruled against. So, I have to figure out what I can do now, while he's still incarcerated to ensure that we at least have a chance to have children when he comes home.


I've started researching the different fertility options that we may have. I am still researching and going through consultations, but it looks like I've pretty much made a decision. I plan to have my eggs frozen. That way, if all of my eggs are useless by the time my boo gets released, we will still have the option of using my frozen eggs to make our family.

Because he has been my best friend for two decades, he always knew there were some type of fertility issues for me. Now that we're in love, he is more than happy to go through whatever procedures we need to in order to have children together. I feel so blessed and honored to be his fiance. The day I become his wife will be the best day of my life.I can't wait to be his wife and the mother of his children.

Life sure would be much easier if they would just let him give me his sperm. I could see it now. Frozen packages of sperm being shipped via FedEx to various prison wives across the country. That would be hilarious! LMBO!

Who is The Prisoner's Fiance

Let me introduce myself. I am the daughter of a woman serving time in prison, who happens to be in love with my best friend, a man serving time in prison.

My boo and I have been best friends for two decades. For the past 12 years, he has been a CDCR prison inmate. We have been nothing but strictly platonic friends all of these years. On September 1st of last year, he called to wish me a happy birthday. I'm still not sure why, but that call was the beginning of it all. Within six weeks, we were both more in love than we had ever been in our lives.

As of today, we are engaged. Officially, he still has a couple of years left on his sentence. Unofficially, he is a candidate for the early releases mandated by the Federal Government due to overcrowding in the California prisons. No matter how much longer he has, I will stand by him faithfully until the day he comes home to me. And, it has not been a problem because he is not only the love of my life, I am his soulmate.

Whether or not to get married while he is still incarcerated is a question we change the answer to regularly. We are in no rush because we are truly enjoying our "courting" period. But, there will come a time when we will set an "if" date. In other words, we will get married when he gets out. But, "if" he's not out by our "if" date, we will probably go ahead and have our own private jailhouse wedding. (Sorry Mommy)

Either way, I am happier than I have ever been in my entire life. Because of that, I make sure to thank God for what my boo and I have every night before I go to sleep and every morning as soon as I wake up. I feel blessed to have what we have. I am proud to say that I am The Prisoner's Fiance.