Starburst Cycles

It’s post-Halloween which means there are a lot of people looking to redistribute Halloween candy. I don’t bring mountains of candy into the Motherhood Beyond Bars postpartum group, but I’ve never found that having a little bit of chocolate hurts anyone (and so far, my kids haven’t noticed their stash getting a little thinner). We started off group today with each person choosing a favorite candy. Halfway through our time together, I noticed one mother eyeing the empty wrappers and asking others if they would pass their wrappers down to her.

“Hey M., what are you going to do with all that trash?” I asked.

“It’s my daughter’s birthday next week,” she said, “and I want to make her what my mom made me when she was away.”

M. started folding the Starburst wrappers, concentrating deeply on the each little fold, even though her eyes were getting a little glassy.

“I hate I can’t be with my baby for her birthday. But when I was little, and my mom was in prison, she sent me a bracelet made of old candy wrappers. And every year I would take it out of my drawer on my birthday, it was the most special thing I had from her. I’d only wear it on my birthday. I just want to have something to send my baby so she’ll remember me—she’ll know I love her.”

As industrious, and even beautiful, as this birthday present is, we want it to be the very last time a little girl in this family receives a candy-wrapper bracelet from her mother in prison. Our vision is to end cycles of familial incarceration—being born to a woman in prison should never determine a child’s future opportunities. Thank you for joining us in this work. As you consider your end-of-year-giving, please consider making a donation to Motherhood Beyond Bars.