HI guys,
        Well, Chris has been on his own for a week now.  Let's see, he
called on Friday begging for a plunger because, I guess he tried to
use his toilet as a garbage disposal.  He refused to tell me how much
or what kind of food that he tried to flush so I told him that he'd
better get a garbage bag and start scooping.  Yuck!
        Then, he went in to the city welfare to try to apply for
assistance.  What none of us knew, but what I, at least, was very
glad to find out, is that, the city has a policy of calling the
parents of 18 to 25 year olds who are applying to find out if it is
really true that they need assistance because the parents can't help
them.  Now, I must admit here that I am praying that my motives were
simply to be truthful and not a bit vengeful when the worker called,
but when she asked if we could help chris out, I told her that, Chris
would be more than welcome to live here at home if he were willing to
abide by our rules.  She then asked what kinds of rules we were
talking about and I said, you know, no smoking, drinking, drugs or
sex, and respect for us and our things.  She must have given Chris an
ear full because he called me later to tell me that I had really,
"skrewed him over."  Sorry, his choice of words, not mine.  I told
him that I would not ever lie for him so he can just forget receiving
that kind of cover from me.  Besides, I'm a tax payer.  I'd be
cheating myself if I lied so that he could use funds for, who knows
what?  that money is meant for people who really do need it, not for
people who want to have subsidised  rebellion.
        Later that day, I got a call from school.  They informed me that,
even though Chris has moved out, they still consider us his legal
guardians and that they were calling to find out why Chris wasn't in
school.  I told them where he had gone, but that he should have been
able to make it to school by 10:00 am so I'd mark it
unexcused.  Then, I talked to the vice principal and learned that
Chris is tetering on the edge of another suspension.  My next call
was to the probation officer to inform her that the vice principal
would be hauling Chris in on Monday for a talk about his skipping
classes, tardies and unexcused absenses.  Then, I called Chris and
told him that he was being marked unexcused for the day.  He started
spluttering, "you can't do that!!"  I said very sweetly, evidently, I
can, and I did.
        Then, he called to ttell me that he had had his drivers license
re-instated and that it would be arriving at our house in two to four
weeks.  He was wondering if we could just bring it by when it
comes.  What I didn't bother to tell him is that, if our address is
on the thing, its still invalid.  Oh well, we'll deal with that
little episode when it arrives.    My big worry is that His girl
friend's parents will now let him drive their car.  they're fools if
they do.  He still isn't insured and in the state of Maine, Chris
can't have anyone out side of the immediate family with him in the
car, while he is driving for the first three months.  That's how we
got his license taken away in the first place because he was showing
off with his girl friend in the car, our car, under our insurance and
we had to put a stop to it.  Unfortunately, her parents, probably
don't really care, but they'll have too if they get stuck with a
legal  mess from his driving.
        Finally, after all that, he called me in the middle of the night
last night because he woke up with a nose blead and didn't know what
to do.  Greg and I both had a hard time fighting the urge to rush
down and check him out, but I sympathised with him and told him to
pinch it and if that didn't work, he'd probably have to go to the
emergency room. He doesn't have a refridgerator so I knew that he
didn't have any ice available.   I guess that he tried calling again
today while I was at church, but he hasn't called back again, so I
don't know how that all turned out.    He said that it was bleading
really badly, but who knows.
        Now, Greg is gone for the week to a conference down in New
Hampshire, leaving me to have all this fun by myself and worst of
all, the Pack lost again this afternoon!  Wow!  What a week, eh?
        The peace in our house right now is just such a blessing.  I almost
breathe a prayer of thanks for every moment that passes, it is such a
relief for the present not to have Chris in the home.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers.  I"m sure that we
haven't heard the end of it so just stay tuned.
Kathy