The other shoe dropped - HARD

Yesterday afternoon I got the phone call that I have been dreading - the police wanting me to come and ID my son after arrest. He was arrested in a grocery store stealing food - let's just say I wasn't feeling like mother of the year. So I go down to the police station and talk to the officer. They let Jamie off with a warning and release him into my custody. We have yet another chat about the rules blah blah blah and I bring him home to let him have a shower, get into some clean clothes and eat. Then BT comes home and Jamie has a temper tantrum and BT has his own little freak out. Later that night when I went upstairs I checked Jamie's room and oh surprise surprise he's gone again. I didn't know whether to be happy or sad since the moment he came back into the house he'd been arguing with everyone except the dog.
Today, I was thinking I'd just hang around the house do some cleaning etc. Then the phone rings at 1 o'clock - it's the police and they have Jamie in custody. Seems he was riding in a stolen car and they need me to come and identify him since he had already given them one false name. The police officer told me that he was in a stolen car with a friend who he can't identify to me (It was Alan, the same boy Jamie had been in a stolen car with before). The police had already identified the car as stolen and when they spotted it they gave chase but they called the chase when the boys in the stolen car were driving at high speed through a mall parking lot. The police picked up the stolen car again about 15 minutes later and started another chase. They chased them through a residential area with the boys knocking down street signs, postal boxes, a hydro pole and running over several peoples front lawns ruining fences, gardens etc. They also just missed a three year old on a front porch when they went over that front lawn. When the car was finally stopped, the boys bailed and started to run from the police. They were both captured and then they both gave the police false names. This is the story I hear from the police officer. *sigh* I asked then if I could talk to Jamie and they arranged for me to go into his holding room to talk to him. On my way in I asked the officer I could beat Jamie just a little but he said I was on camera so I shouldn't touch him. Damn my toe was just itching to kick the little bastard in the ass and make him start thinking. I couldn't believe it when I walked in there and he copped an attitude with me within 10 seconds. He tried to tell me that I had locked him out the night before and he didn't even know the car was stolen and he only ran from the cops because he thought that's what you are supposed to do. I've left him there over night and he goes to court in the morning and I think for the sake of everyone involved I'm going to let the province hold onto him for a while. He doesn't have any respect for me, refuses to listen and just does whatever the hell he wants. It hasn't been a good day and I don't think tomorrow is going to be any better because I'm going to tell the Crown Attorney that I can't handle him and don't think that I can enforce any restrictions the court puts on him if they release him to me awaiting his trial. It looks like Jamie is going to spend his first Christmas away from his family.

Thinking

I'm starting to think, based on my television viewing preferences, that I am a very morbid person. I'm fascinated with death investigation or maybe they are just really great shows lol. I watch all the CSI's, FBI files, various detective shows, ancient history mummy shows and forensic shows. THey all basically have to do with dead people and death. Is it just intellectual curiousity or am I some kind of sicko? Granted I must not be alone in this since there are LOTS of shows out there now. I'm such a nerd about this that this weekend the guy who plays Greg Sanders on CSI is going to be in town and dammit I'm going. I don't even LIKE his character but I'll be one of the crowd trying to get an autograph. Well, maybe not part of a crowd considering my agoraphobia but if the place isn't packed I'm gonna try. Is that nerdy or what? Hell I even have all the CSI pc games....where did I leave that pocket protector? lol.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop

Everytime Jamie goes AWOL I get phone calls from "agencies" (youth shelters, missions etc) wanting to know why I've thrown this poor innocent baby out onto the street. I have a meeting with his teacher at 10am along with assorted other school type officials. Possibly Jamie will also be attending - wonderful. I already feel like I've failed in some way and now a group of people I dont' even know are going to be looking at me and evaluating my performance as a mother. Well, maybe they won't but it will certainly FEEL that way. Ah enough Jamie.

My grandmother called last night to tell me all about her shopping trip to Pennsylvania - her ladies club goes every year. Imagine if you will two Greyhound buses packed full of middle-aged to elderly Scottish ladies raring to shop and heading for the Liquor Barn for the cheap booze. It's insane and funny and exhausting. The first time I went with them I was amazed when before we even went to our hotel we pulled into a liquor store and some of these women were coming out with shopping carts FULL of cheap alcohol. Some of those womens suitcases were seriously clinking when we finally left lol. Anyhow, Grandma had a great time and spend lots of money buying god knows what lol. Then I made the mistake of asking her what she wants for Christmas. "Nothing, don't get me anything, I have everything" Uh huh - this is the same woman who freaked out four years ago when the kids didn't make her something for Christmas like they made for my mom. *sigh* Now I have to think of something for the 82 year old that has everything.

Jamie strikes again

So I've been really knocked down by this cold and Sunday while I was feeling marginally better BT and I drove to Potsie's house to pick up Katie. Leaving Jamie at home. Alone. He would have come with us but he was in trouble. For what? you ask. Well on Saturday he broke into his sisters room and removed her computer to his room because his wasn't working. The REASON his sister even has a lock on her door is that he was stealing her stuff. After the unauthorized "borrowing" was discovered he was told he couldn't come with us. An hour later we get back with Katie and lo and behold Jamie is gone. Again. Monday (yesterday) he was waiting at the bus stop to go to school when Katie ran into him. He told Katie that she didn't see him, that he was invisible and a figment of her imagination. Uh huh. Does this mean I dont' have to go to the IEP meeting on Monday? I feel like such a failure.

*sniffle*

I'm sick AGAIN. BT caught a cold and generously decided to share it with me so now it feels like my whole head is swollen because of my sinuses. So I think I'm gonna medicate myself to sleep and hope this goes away in the night and/or that I don't drown in snot in my sleep. Ewwwww. *sniffle*

Remembrance Day

I went to the Cenataph today to watch the Remembrance Day service. It's so sad to see the number of veterans dwindling every year soon we won't have anyone left who actually fought in those wars. This is the first year they have included Vietnam vets here - they weren't recognized as Vietnam wasn't a Canadian war. Sad that men who gave their lives for something they believed in weren't recognized by their own government. Hell they only started to recognize the Korean vets a couple of years ago. It's touching to see all those senior citizens with their medals in damn cold weather - standing tall and proud for all to see. I think it's a shame that so many of the younger people don't understand really the sacrifices that that generation made for all of us. For our freedom to live free. So to the vets out there on this day we salute you - Lest we forget.

Teachers - bah

I got a phone call from Jamies teacher and now a note that she wants to meet with for an IRPC for Jamie. This basically means I get to spend an hour or so having a group of people I don't know talk down to me. Why oh why do they always talk to me like I'm some idiot that can't understand what they are saying. They are including the guidance counselor AND on-site social worker so now it'll be 5 against one. Great. Had another fight with Jamie tonight - he's grounded for two weeks to try to earn back some trust around here. So tonight BT says to me "You know he's talking to Tonya at the front door right?" No as a matter of fact I didn't know and I yelled up to him to shut the door and I just ASSUMED that he listened to me. Silly me. Ten minutes later there is a positively arctic wind whistling down the stairs and I have to go up and tell him to shut the damn door. I'm putting off turning on the heat as long as I can to save some money this month and there he is turning the whole place into a refridgerator - actually I think the fridge was warmer. If the heat had have been on I might have been tempted to echo my father and ask him if he thought I was heating the whole neighbourhood. lol.

The Prodigal Son

Jamie's back. I got a call Thursday night from a mission in Branford (smallish kind of town about 30 min drive from here - their claim to fame is that Wayne Gretzky is from there). Seems these nice churchy people were going to drive Jamie and would that be ok? I told them the story of Jamie and him leaving home etc. so I told them they could bring him here but I couldn't guarantee that he would be staying. He arrived about 11 on Thursday night and we talked to him for about 2 hours and he agreed to all my rules etc so I let him stay. Who knows if it will last but at least he seems to have found out that his "friends" on the street don't really give a shit about him. Last night was our first fight post-return. He told me that he was going out to clean the yard (I don't have a problem with that) and he buggered off to go and hang out with the losers that started all this trouble in the first place. He was only gone for about 10 minutes but the point was that he had been TOLD that he was not hang around with the pot-head losers if he was going to live here. So now we have agreed to have weekly meetings about his progress and what he needs to do to regain trust around here. He can't seem to get it through his head that I don't have great faith in him at the moment and that Chez Mom isn't a hotel that he can come and go from without any rules. I must have failed somewhere as a parent and keep wracking my brain trying to find new ways to make things better. That boy is going to give me ulcers.

New comments on LOST

Well well tonight was interesting - I wonder who clocked ol' Said? Couldn't have been the obnoxious hick he was too far away when his rocket went off and the other "main" characters were all trying to dig out Jack and Charlie. I wonder if it might have been the black lady since we haven't seen much of her recently or I suppose it could be the mysterious french female whose voice we heard on the beacon. Doesn't look like we'll find out next week anyways, should be interesting to find out who else doesn't want to get off this island.

Ouchie

Well I've been flat on my back for nearly a week now after throwing out my back by BENDING OVER!! It could have been worse and I've been jonesn to blog but since my keyboard went tits up about the same time there wasn't much I could do. Other than my assorted health problems nothing much else has been going on around here. Jamie has called me again basically just to say hi and that he loves me. BT says that's because Jamie wants me to ask him to come home again but I'm holding steady and if he wants to come back he's gonna have to ask me and then agree to some fairly strict rules. To tell the truth I'm not sure if I want him to come back, it's been so quiet around here - no fighting, no stealing and no lying, there has been food left and I haven't been worried outta my mind about things going missing. God that makes me sound like such a rotten mother, I feel like I should be trying to get him to come home.

I spent a fascinating night last night watching the US elections. I was actually up until around 3 am trying to find out if the 'merricans were actually going to re-elect Dubya. I really can't understand how he did it and I suppose since he isn't actually MY president that I should probably just shut my mouth lol. That being said - what were you people thinking?? The funny thing is six months from now all that will be heard will be bitching about Dubya and his policies etc etc etc. Ah well, my Prime Minister is nothing to write home about either - hell six months after HE was elected the Parliment tried to oust him with a vote of non-confidence. Shame it didn't work but I have hope that we'll get rid of him soon LOL. I was just watching Jon Stewart on the Daily Show and he was saying that looking at the map of the states divided by which party won - it looks like you could only vote Democrat if you had a boat LOL. So ends my political rhetoric lol.