Brenda’s been doing interviews all morning. She’s probably enjoying this freedom so much and is so glad to be home that she doesn’t mind all the attention.
I’m tired myself, but I’m happy-happy! It was great to have her here for Mother’s Day. Brenda cooked and made a really fantastic meal – roast pork, squash with Quebec maple syrup on it, broccoli and cauliflower with Bernier sauce, leeks, and I don’t know what else. It was just a magnificent meal with homemade apple pie for dessert.
Full Parole
I’ve had faith in Brenda all along. But also, I think when Corrections Canada translated all of the documents from the trial from Spanish to English, they realized a travesty had been done. There was absolutely no evidence of any wrongdoing…there’s only circumstantial. One thing she couldn’t prove was that she hadn’t known what was going on. Well, how do you prove that? She says she didn’t know, and I believe her.
Pressure Makes Diamonds
Brenda’s not completely back to the Brenda that I knew. I noticed it the first night she was home. She was like a complete different person from what I’d been talking to on the phone when she was in the prison. She told me it was like she’d lost part of herself and left that part back in the prison.
From all bad comes good. I think she’s a better person now. I think she’s more considerate of people. It might not happen overnight, but I’m sure she’s going to help someone else. It’s like “pay it back.”
Looking Forward
Brenda and I both like yard sales, so maybe we’ll go do some yard saling. She’s looking forward to meeting with friends. There are quite a few people from her past that have been phoning up and wanting to get together.
The only thing holding her back is she’s got a parole stipulation of not going beyond 40 kilometers from home for now. I don’t know if that will change. She wants to go see her friend Deborah and she’s got a whole pile of friends in Toronto that she’d like to visit.
Regrets
The first time I saw her in the prison she said, “I’m so sorry mom.” She apologized for putting me through all this. She said, “I am not guilty, but I know this must have been hard for you. It was a big strain for both of us.”
I said, “You don’t have to be sorry. I know you didn’t do this.”
*****
For full coverage, also read:
Brenda Martin Returning To Canada [1]
