Hoping for an Update?

Well, here it is.

Salinda got her braces off! She looks gorgeouser, if that was possible. She has been a delight to be around since her friends are with her. She gives them her best. I hope it will last more than a few minutes after she is separated from them. Hopefully she'll smile for me to take a picture to post for you.

In regards to Mike, you are as in the dark as we are about the whole “what will happen” question. He hasn’t come home from school yet today. Who knows when he will show up. We have heard nothing today about a court hearing. We did some research and auto theft is a pretty serious offense. We don’t know what will happen to him. If any of you know what is a typical legal sanction for stealing a car and driving without a license and uninsured, when you already have a juvenile record and are 4 months from your eighteenth birthday, let me know.

He’s supposed to have an interview tomorrow after school for a job he really wants, so we expect to see him sometime before then. If he gets the job, who knows if he will be around to go to work when the time comes to start?

Bart and I have reminded each other for years, “Don’t put the word why and the word Mike in the same sentence.” it is never possible to determine if there is intentionality or if it simply impulse control issues. Could it be that he is running again? School isn’t going well, at home he isn’t able to manipulate us into giving him everything he wants. He has asked to change schools this far into his senior year and we have said no. His behavior, historically, has gotten him into a placement because we have said we can't keep him safe, but now we aren’t doing that and just letting him reap the natural consequences of his actions. Could it be that he is wanting to run away again -- be put somewhere that could possibly be better? Maybe the next institution or detention center, in his mind, would be better than living at home? He has managed to burn bridges with almost every friend in town to the point he has no one to spend time with (and he hasn’t been in this community even two months yet). People don’t like someone who borrows money and won’t pay it back, asks for rides but never pays for gas, borrows clothes, shoes, etc. and forgets to return them...

So maybe he is trying to get arrested. Maybe it is his subconscious helping him run away. Or maybe it is just FASD impulsivity and poor decision making skills. Either way, there is no way to rescue him from himself when he won’t stay home.

And my current condition: My nose is dripping, I’m coughing and hacking, and I’m way behind. I have a powerpoint presentation and two videos to put together by Sunday. I have a matching bash to prepare for. All I want to do is crawl in bed and get better, but my inbox is bulging and i“m just too far behind.