When I was six, my dad worked in a city that was a four hour drive from my house.  Every week he would be gone Sunday night through Friday.  I remember sitting next to my friend and neighbor on the school bus one morning and breaking into tears because I missed my dad.  My friend understood my feelings and comforted me by saying “I know, my dad is in jail.  At least you will see him on Friday.”  As a six year old, I did not understand what it meant to have a parent in jail.  I did not really think a lot about how it would affect her.  I did not consider how much she must have missed him because I got to spend time with my dad every weekend.  My dad went to my Saturday soccer games and taught me to play “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” on the piano.  He was still a big part of my life even if it was only on Saturdays and Sundays.  She could only spend time with her dad when she was brought to visit him, which was not often.  This seminar made me think more about what it really meant for her and her family when her dad was in prison.  It made me think about the impact it had on her education, her home life, and her relationship with her father.  This seminar taught me so much about how much children are affected by their parents being in jail or having been in jail.  And even though a parent may want to do the right thing, they are set back by laws or an excessive amount of fees that keep them from being able to stick to the right path.  I just wished I could have understood this all when I was six.