I saw my son, David, in handcuffs today. This is the first time. Fourteen years old.
It is heart wrenching to see your child in this position, for some reason I don’t think that this is the last time he will be in this spot.
We are trying to break through to him that his actions have consequences.
When you steal something, you get in trouble. When you destroy the property of another, even if it belongs to a family member, there are consequences.
Today, I saw my nightmares come true. No parent wants to see their child in handcuffs. Will the actions that we took today make a change on his outlook?
Sadly, I don’t think so.
When the Deputy Sheriff was here, David had huge tears rolling down his face. After he left?
Back to the same old David.
Based on the recommendation of the deputy, we put David in safe bed for a couple of days. This is the fourth time this summer we have needed to call the deputies. I hate having to do that, makes me feel like an ineffective parent.
It wasn’t just stealing today, he tried to cover what he did by hiding the item he stole in the property of another youth at the mentor house that he goes to when he is with his staff. So some unsuspecting youth could have gotten in trouble because of his actions.
No remorse.
I struggled today. When the deputy brought David and the squad car around the corner of our property, I flagged him down and talked him out of hauling David off. Instead, I drove him to the safe bed. Still no remorse.
I guess that I shouldn’t be surprised. In my nightmares I see David in handcuffs standing before a judge. However, before I can hear the charges, I wake up, usually with tears rolling down my face.
It is 12:30 in the morning, usually only part way through my long nights, and I am going to try to get to sleep. I don’t sleep very well, I wake every couple of hours and at specified times to check on David. Even when he isn’t hear, my body keeps the time.