Joe got up at 5:30 this morning, highly unusual; he typically doesn’t get up until about 15 minutes before the bus is due. I listen to him puttering around the house, but eventually fall back asleep. Woke up again at 8, thought I heard a noise, so I double-checked that he actually left for school. Check his door as I walk by, it’s locked. I grab my keys and check, but he’s not there. I go back to bed.
I get up at 10, my typical time since I normally don’t head to bed until after 3a.m. anyways. Pottied the dogs, checked email, ran the dishwasher, swept the living room then sat down to check on my Clash of Clans. Did a few searches after I had collected my gold and elixor in CoC – school related and still trying to find a psychologist for Joe. After twelve, so I settle in to do homework – I have school open house at 6:30, so know that’ll cut into homework time.
S phones me at 12:42 and asks what I’m doing. His tone of voice is buoyant; I told him what I was doing. He then asks if I’ve talked to Joe, I say no, he’s in school. He says the school called Mommy Dearest and told her he wasn’t there today. I asked why would the school call her when I have custody of him…? He got a bit flustered and back-tracked, said maybe it wasn’t the school, but somebody called her to say Joe was planning to run away. He asked if Joe has been upset, I told him he’s been very upset since Mommy Dearest talked to him on Sunday. He asked if I knew how badly the teacher was treating Joe – I interrupted him and said she wasn’t, that I had spoken to her Monday and her only concern about Joe was that he was reading so far ahead, he was way ahead of everyone else and she was worried he might get bored. S, in a shocked tone, said, but that’s a good thing! I agreed and said I had also explained to the teacher about James, and she apologized to me for being too hard on Joe! So he asked if the GaL had talked to Joe, I said not as far as I knew but he had sent me documents to work on Joe’s citizenship and I was waiting for my appointment confirmation. [S let out a shocked ‘wow’.] He asked if anything else was going on, I said the V.P had phoned to say he had been told about what Joe was dealing with, so would only have a ‘talk’ with him concerning his argument with teacher and leaving school grounds on Monday; that is, until he heard the shock in my voice that Joe was not in school that day again. I told S that Joe left school grounds with Mommy Dearest on Monday morning and neither informed me; I didn’t find out he wasn’t in school till I spoke to his teacher at 3, then I tracked Joe down. Even after I told him to come home – they still waited another 37 minutes! And now the V.P informed me he skipped again on Wed. S said he needed to call Mommy Dearest and he would phone or text me if he had any more info.
I hang up and call the school; attendance office confirms Joe was absent second and third period and it was third period when I phoned. I decide to give Joe a chance and wait to see if he comes home on the bus. Last bus goes by around 4:30 or so, I phoned the cops and reported him as a run away. Cop arrives and listens to me, takes a description – he remembers being the cop called in three years ago by the RCMP’s to do a welfare check on the missing kids from Canada! I give him S’s address as well as Mommy Dearest’s apartment address – even though she lives with S and not in the apartment. Then I go to grab a Coke – Joe took all but one; I get a funny feeling and go check my wallet – it’s open, he stole $53 from me, too.
Dingy and Bill come around 7 or so and cut my lawn [thanks guys!] and I fill them in on what’s happening. Oh, I also spoke to my brother Ron and gave him a very truncated version of what’s been going on and that S and I no longer speak, really. Dingy and family leave around 10-ish, D has school tomorrow, after all. About 10-15 minutes after they left, a DFCS worked shows up to say she had had a very lengthy talk about me abusing Joe; him not being fed, housing is inadequate, etc. The worker confirmed pretty much that Mommy Dearest accused me of abuse.
I told the worker that Joe had run away, police had been called and I have a case number and that Officer Harris advised I go file a run away warrant tomorrow. I tell her exactly what has been going on – and she remembers the old case where all children were removed from Mommy Dearest’s custody and recalls that she had to do a home visit to check on Christian and Squishy – and remembers I was the caregiver present, along with S! I told her that after talking to Mommy Dearest, Joe suddenly believes James’ suicide attempt was his fault because ‘he wasn’t a good enough brother.’ The caseworker looked like she was going to be sick. I told her how Mommy Dearest had told James that with me having custody he could live with her whether DFCS or the court liked it – caseworker looked a bit upset until I told her that’s when Mommy Dearest really turned on me cause I informed her that is not what will happen. I had custody and he would live with me – but I would be freer on visits than DFCS was… and James got worse with more contact.
I told her I had an emotional breakdown and while working with a psychologist, decided to have my custody of James rescinded – which it was, on April 22 of this year. Joe was doing okay, so I kept working with him. Told her he had stayed at Dingy’s for part of the summer, earning money doing lawn care – until he started talking to Mommy Dearest more again, and ran away.
I told her I would file the run away warrant tomorrow, and that as much as I hated to give up on Joe, would ask that he be removed from my custody. I told her I cannot work with him, help him, when Mommy Dearest has so much influence over him and advises him to do such bad things, bad decisions. She felt bad for me, and Joe, but understood my reasoning. I told her that woman not only destroyed her own family, she has destroyed mine as well. Once upon the time I had been close to S. But he’s still drinking the Kool-Aid.
She thanked me, said she was putting it in her report that it should be dropped but a daytime worker would contact me. I said that’s fine, and she left.
I so wish I had never met that toxic female, or any of her children! Oh, I also told the worker I am concerned about Squishy since she is in his life… Mommy Dearest may have tried to initiate legal trouble for me, but the caseworker plans to look into why this case is still ongoing and why she has contact with any of the kids. Who knows, they may even start investigating to make sure Squish is safe….
Oh yeah, and the child psychologist phoned but I basically had to tell her ‘never mind’ since he ran away….
K, I’m outtie….