Tom & Annette Lewis - 2012

It has just been 18 days since Tom was released on a what is considered a "pre-trial" release. I have to admit it is a lot more than I had anticipated, for the simple fact that you go from maybe a 20 percent to 100 percent. It is overwhelming. Not only did Tom come home but he came home as my husband. So we have had to re-adjust and not to just life together but as a married couple too. It has been an amazing experience. Living almost 15 months with my husband in prison seemed to be the hardest thing I would ever go through. It takes a strong woman to get up every morning and make things work while her husband (or boyfriend, anyone) is in prison. Now with Tom home, I realize that Tom being away was just a fraction of the strength it takes to be in a happy loving marriage. Marriage is hard, it takes effort and in the last 18 days it has taken a lot of effort getting used to one another it. I have been so used to being by myself and just doing whatever I needed to not to mention only 15 minutes of conversation with Tom and now being with one another every single day - is a lot. But it is worth it. I am well aware that there is much more to come for Tom and I. While we have been through a lot in the past 15 months we know there is much more to come in our "happily every after." Right now we are grateful that Tom is home and we are happy.