She is faced with insurmountable problems....financial, emotional, psychological, social, stigmatization, health problems to face alone, children to take care of. She keeps the household "together" until her husband comes home. She works, pays the bills, pays the mortgage or rent, the car payments, the insurances. She takes care of the children, the repairs for the house, and just about everything else under the sun. Holidays and birthdays come and go. She is alone and lonely, most often faced with depression. "Ways To Cope" 1. Take one day at a time. Do not think too far in advance. Try to "get through one more day." 2. Plan small projects for each day, and try to reach a goal. For instance, I put all our photos in photo albums during the first few weeks of my husband's incarceration. When that project was complete, I started cleaning out drawers and closets. 3. Organize your life. I reorganized bills and mail, using folders and envelopes, and I kept logs, writing everything down. 4. Keep pictures of your husband around the house. I have pictures in every room. 5. Join a church group. I started baking cakes for the monthly cake sale. I enjoyed doing it, and felt I was contributing something to society. 6. Get involved...acquire hobbies. Knitting, needlepoint, gardening, writing, keeping a diary....anything. Just do something, even if you force yourself to do it. As time goes on, it will get easier, and you will begin to enjoy it. I planted an "Angel Garden" with angel statues and flowers. I began writing poetry, stories, and letters to the editor. I also began writing a journal, which became a very important part of my life. 7. Keep in close contact with your husband. Accept phone calls (if you can afford it, as prison phone calls are extrememly expensive), send your husband letters, cards, magazine and newspaper clippings, and computer print-outs of things that interest him. Send him pictures (old and new). Men in prison love to look at pictures f