Wednesday, September 6, 2000
I went to my monthly committee meeting. We were told that our service would no longer be needed. We were all released from our calling. I could hardly believe what I was hearing!
The research we had done had been entered into the computer. When people need to find an article that goes with their lesson, they can just type what topic they are looking for into their computer, and it will come up.
I have had the calling for over 2 years. Thanks to technology, it’s over!
Friday, September 8, 2000
Jared had spent the evening with Benny. When he came home, he asked if they could go to a friend’s house and hang out. I told him that it was almost time for bed and that he could hang out with him tomorrow.
Jared didn’t think it was fair because Benny’s mom let Benny stay out for as long as he wanted. Before I knew it, we were yelling at each other. Jared was angry when he went to bed.
After I had cooled off, I felt bad about how we had yelled at each other. I went downstairs to talk to him and to tell him I was sorry.
I went into his room. His lights were off, and it looked like he had gone to bed. I sat on his bedside and apologized. Jared didn’t say anything, so I kept talking. I let him know how much he meant to me and why I didn’t want him hanging out with Benny all night.
Jared still didn’t respond. I wiggled him to see if he was awake. It was then that I realized Jared had rolled up his sleeping bag and put it under his covers so that it looked like he was in bed sleeping.
If I wasn’t upset before, I sure was now! I called Benny’s mom to see if Jared was at their house. Benny’s mom told me that Benny had already gone to bed. I asked her to check. It turned out Benny had rolled up his sleeping bag and put it in his bed aswell.
I got in the car and drove around the neighborhood to see if I could find him. None of his friends had seen him. By now it was late evening, and most of his friends had gone to bed.
I said a silent prayer. I got the impression I should go over to the rich area. I thought it was a crazy idea, but I was desperate to find him. I drove around the area to see if any houses had lights on.
I saw a big, beautiful house by the river. It had lights on in the basement and lots of cars parked in front of it. I got out of the car and walked up to the window to see who was in the basement.
I could see teenagers sitting in a circle playing spin the bottle. I spotted Benny and Jared. I knocked on the window. When Jared saw me, he came to the side door. I told him it was time to go home. Jared was surprised that I had found him, so he got in the car without hesitation. As we were driving home, Jared grew increasingly upset that we were going home.
When we got back, Richard was waiting up for us. As soon as Richard saw us, he called the police and told them to come get Jared.
The police came. Richard told them to take him away. They handcuffed Jared and brought him with them. I thought there had to be a better way to handle the situation! As they left, I cried. I didn’t know what was going to happen to Jared. I was scared for him! I called out, “I love you!” He turned around and said, “Yeah, right!”
Saturday, September 9, 2000
I had been worried sick about him and hadn’t slept all night. I told Richard we needed to find out where he was and go get him. Richard said, he’s not our problem anymore. I didn’t know where to turn. Just then, the phone rang. It was a police officer. He wanted to know how long they should keep Jared. I let him know that I was on my way to get him! Richard and I went to pick him up. It had been hard on Jared to have spent a night in juvenile detention. I wish I knew how to make things better!
Saturday, September 16, 2000
I thought we should do something fun as a family today. I talked to Jared and told him I didn’t like what was happening to our family, and I wanted to make happy memories. Jared didn’t care. He just wanted to go hang out with Benny. Richard said we should go to the Dinosaur Museum in Wyoming. It was about a 6-hour drive. I was hoping we could find something closer. Richard assured me it would be fine.
I got the kids ready, and off we drove to Wyoming.
Jared was miserable to be around, but I tried to make the best of it. When we drove back, Jared and Richard got into an argument. Jared started to punch Richard. Richard pulled the van over. Before I knew it, they were in a fistfight.
Sarah, Laila, and Johny were crying. I did what I could to break up the fight. I wasn’t strong enough, so I ended up getting a few punches in the crossfire. It hurt, but I didn’t care. I needed them to stop fighting!
Richard called the police to come get Jared. When the police arrived, Richard told them that Jared had gotten violent. The police said it was a family matter and they didn’t want to get involved, and drove away.
I was so relieved they had not taken Jared! I am sure Jared was too. Everyone was quiet on the rest of the drive home.
Thursday, September 21, 2000
Cindy, a friend of mine, has a son who always caused trouble. Her son had lived in a place that cost $3,000.00 a month. We could never afford that amount. Her son had lived there for a few months and was back home.
Cindy told me that she wished she had tried putting their son on medication before putting him in the home. Ever since he has been on medication, he has been a different child. Cindy gave me the doctor’s phone number who had helped her son.
I went with Jared today to see the doctor. He reviewed our family history and spoke with Jared. Then he talked to me. He said a lot of times that when boys hit puberty, chemicals in their brains change, and if they have depression and anxiety, they can become violent and angry. Sometimes they even end up committing suicide. The doctor prescribed some pills for Jared to take.
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