Three Hots and a Cot

Three Hots and a Cot. That's what criminals call prison.
Where I am now is sort-of a prison. It's not knicknamed "The Penn"
for nothing. I have begun to have sympathy with those criminals who
are in solitary confinement. They are looking at months, years in a room or
cell. I am faced with only a number of weeks and it gets to me. And like
many criminals (perhaps) - I often spend my time here wishing that what went
wrong did not go wrong. "If only"... But here I am, so now it's time to talk
about the food!

My three hots here are very hit-or-miss.
The kitchen cannot seem to deliver the food on time, nor
can they get the orders correct. I have ordered oatmeal and brown sugar for breakfast
only to receive brown sugar. I got hot tea that was really only a cup of hot water.  Today
I got the tea bag, but no water. I got have gotten a few sausage tossed on my plate.
I don't eat pork, so that ruined my meal.

They call me the "Breadstick Lady" when the Food Services people come by to
see how things are going. There are breadsticks on the menu, but I am never
able to actually order them. On the rare occasion that someone figures out the computer
and can send me a breadstick, it is either on a plate by itself (but still tasty) or in a bag
on the tray all dried out and stale. Now I order them just to bug the kitchen staff.

My fabulous mother-in-law, Charlotte, is the only one who is allowed to bring me food, because
she has been to the food prep class with me, and I trust her to follow all food-safe procedures.
So I have spaghetti from her, and some Stouffer's mac-n-cheese to tide me over for dinner.

My cot is not too bad. I have a pillow from home, and the bed is made every day with nice,
fresh sheets. It raises and lowers however I want. Now, if I could only get through the
night without all the interuptions.

While being in here is  similar to prison on many levels, I don't have mean,
angry neighbors or wardens who scare me.
Instead, I have a great staff of support people who will help me get through this.
The nurses, aides, and other people deserve a huge shout out. They help make this journey
tolerable. They even laugh with me about how bad the "3 hots" are. I'll be getting out soon,
and be moving on to the next phase of life. But my time in the "joint" has molded me and left
an impression I won't soon forget.