Hub is still serving time, but our relationship is stronger. Our relationship is built on intimacy through communication. Things have changed, but I think for better.

There are those who do survive prison and relationships do survive.
I believe ours will be one of those. We are both too stubborn not to work things out.

You are absolutely correct, ksteeler. Prison changes each and every inmate and every life it touches. An inmate's value system changes along with his belief system and how he looks at the world in general.

If an inmate is in prison for a relatively short time, the change is negligible, but if an inmate has a longer sentence, for example say five years or more, prison definitely changes him.

For some people prison can be a positive experience as it allows a person a lot of time to think about where they came from, how they got there, and what is and is not important in life. But for others, they become so bitter and cynical that any relationship they attempt to have is difficult and ultimately doomed to failure.

When I went to prison, I was married. Eight months into my prison stint, my wife filed for divorce. I was aggravated at the time, but I soon realized that it was for the better.

By the time I was released eight years later I had changed so much that I was no longer relationship material and my marriage would never have worked anyway.

I have seen instances in which an inmate became closer to God, even though you never really know if it is genuine or if they are just playing the prison game not to get hurt. And I have seen relationships strengthened by having a couple apart as it allows them to communicate freely in letters and have an acute awareness of each others needs and desires--- and they come to the realization that they really do indeed love and need each other. But I have seen prison relationships in which the couple gradually began to move apart instead of come together and the relationship eventually fails.

Prison was a positive experience for me as it made me a better person. I learned a lot about myself and am more compassionate, but it did poison my views against the government and society in general. But I was just no longer a person that wanted to have a 24/7 relationship with anyone.

Even though I was around many other inmates, prison isolated me from society and upon my release, I just wanted to be left alone. I do have a close circle of maybe six friends, and I am not a hermit or sociopath, but I have become a very private person who does not want anyone around 24/7.

Prison changes everyone.

rewdiazepam

Thought, that is good to hear. Rew, I hear you. I've never been the kind of person who wanted someone else around 24/7 either LOL. I guess I'll see what happens down the road.