Quiet at the homestead

I had to work today. Part of the "perks" of nursing is getting to work a fairly hectic schedule that includes every other weekend. This is mine to work. Don't get me wrong, I love being a nurse and the education provides me a solid ground to stand on when fighting the world, as it seems at times-alot of times, for the things my boy needs. So my son was home today with his step-dad. From what he reported to me, quite excitedly I might add, it has been another good day, thank god! My son said he and my hubby fixed our vacuum cleaner, cleaned the house and he led me around to display just how good of a job he did. I have to admit, they rocked it out for sure! The house looks nice!

To stave off the boredom...because my son isn't attending school right now (he's dangerous and all you know), I also gave him a project to work on. What my boy needs are life skills and to learn how to be a functional member within a household. Due to his disability, he will not be attending college and it is highly unlikely that he will be able to hold any kind of a job down. At this moment, we don't even know how long we'll be able to keep him with us due to the county and laws that do nothing to advocate for the rights of the mentally ill, but anyway, I figure while he is here we will make good use of our time. I gave him a budget of $25 and asked him to create a shopping list for whatever he likes. Items for him, for dinner, whatever. He choose to use the money to create a meal for our family of five instead of keeping all the dough for himself. I thought that was very thoughtful of him. He has been using my recipe book, The Joy of Cooking to create a mealplan and a shopping list and will be monitoring the store ads for the best prices etc...to make the best use of the $25. Now I realize this maybe something that you or I could do in our sleep. For him though, this is a real challenge. He needs to be able to create a plan, think about what is doable and not, use his money wisely, and produce an outcome. Lifeskills, here is where we begin.

I received in the mail today the release for information that the "supportive person" wanted me to have my boy sign, since he is 18 and now they suddenly cannot speak to me without his consent. Apparently she got my message and request to mail it out, but had not the decency to call me to explain her cryptic message. I guess she thinks perhaps that the anxiety left to linger over my weekend would be the best way to support our family at this point. It seems odd to me that the only party truly advocating for my boy is the public defender. Not social services, not the mental health services, but the public defender. I am thankful for that though. I can deal with the other wolves in sheep clothes as they approach.

I'm still torn about if I should attend Monday's meeting with the "supportive people and their supervisors" because I really only need one answer from them, are they going to help or hinder in regards to finding care for my son. Right now, the answer seems to hinder. It looks as though they are trying to force us into placing him residentially once again regardless of the fact that he is thriving at home and doing well. Now I am not wearing any rosy glasses here, and nor is any of our family. We all know that my son is ill and chronically so. We all know that it is not a matter of if he will need medical attention from time to time, but when. What we seem to know and no one else seems to care about is that if he is ill, and in a chaotic environment that doesn't have the time or resources to recognize it, then he will fail again. THAT is dangerous. If he becomes ill here, we know what to do. It also does not involve the criminal court systems. I only have one follower right now on this site, and thank you sweetie for following, but I realize that I initiated this late Friday. I am hoping that as we get into next week there will be more. I am hoping that the news stations I have forwarded this to will call me. If not, I will call them.

I am also looking forward to speaking to the school district next week. My boy is 4.5credits short of high school graduation. I would love him to be able to reach this milestone for the simple reason that it will boost his confidence. Give him a sense of accomplishment, etc. They have offered to set up our home computer so he can finish his credits out online over a period of time. We just need to ensure that the person coming out to set it up is safe. Honestly, I am more worried about our Boxer than my boy...but fortunately for them, we can handle both at once. My family is good at multi-tasking.

I plan to post daily, and some of it may be blissfully mundane. This is to illustrate a point though, that my boy has far more good days than bad, and taxpayers dollars could be used elsewhere instead of having him in court for BS charges.

Over the course of time I will provide the history of how we got here. It is long and not pretty at some points. However, it is our story and makes each of us who we are today. A strong, unified family that cares for one another regardless of the shortcomings. I am a very lucky woman. For now, hubby is doing breakfast for dinner and my son is at his side scrambling away. I am going to go and enjoy them both.