The hardest thing I had to do was apply for a visitor pass at the county prison. I didn’t feel like I would make it through the day, but I did. And it wasn’t as bad the next time. Yes sadly there was a next time. But those 16 felonies were knocked down to just a couple thanks to a good lawyer and all of our savings plus more. This was the first of many times it happened. A lot of time along with addiction comes criminal activity. It’s not unusual but it was for us. We had never as a family had to go through this with anyone and we learned as we went.

This year as Christmas approached, my only wish was for my family to be whole. He has been clean for a year, but homeless. This is the heart vs head dilemma. We have remained strong and used our heads although our heart has broken. He was living in a hotel room with his girlfriend, her son and a baby girl whom he has told us is his. They had been in a hotel room for almost 4 months. There were several times they were close to being kicked out and we paid for nights, about a total of 2 – 3 weeks. Thankfully in the middle of December they were placed into a family shelter to await an opening for section 8 housing. I hope by not giving him an easy way out that he will be a stronger person. It would have been easy to just say yes, come and live with us but how can I have someone in my house that steals from me? We actually have deadbolts on our bedroom doors. It is so sad that we would trust a stranger in our house more than our own son.

During the Christmas season we let our heart guide us so that we could help the 2 children with clothes, winter coats and snow pants. We were their Santa this year. We just couldn’t allow them to lose the magic of a child’s Christmas. After all, Christmas is about the children and their joy on Christmas morning.

We have 2 other grandchildren. Each of my daughters have a child that are only a few months apart. Both are 3 years old. Our older daughter is currently working on her doctorate and lives in Louisiana working full time as the administrator of Drug Court. She is a very strong willed, independent young woman. We are very proud of her an all that she’s accomplished. Her son is an adorable little boy with a kind heart. He is very strong, possibly a NFL player in the making. He loves to play and climb but also enjoys quiet time doing artwork and snuggling. He has eyelashes that we all dream of having! What a cutie. He is interested in the world around him and loves exploring and collecting thing to make into projects. My daughter is not married to his father. They broke off their engagement do to irreconcilable differences.

Our youngest daughter has her Bachelors degree in psychology and works full time as a teacher at a private school. She is planning on continuing her studies to get a nursing degree. She is much more quiet and reserved than her older sister. She and my granddaughter live with us. She is married and going through a difficult divorce. My granddaughter is a sweet girl who loves helping do whatever we are doing. She enjoys art and making projects. She is very advanced for her age and needs to be constantly busy. I love our quiet times when we watch movies and snuggle. But this kid asks a million questions about everything!She wants to know it all.

So just like everyone else my life is a balancing act. As I continue to post I will go into more detail about each part of my multi faceted life. Please leave me comments too! I’d love to hear from you.

Part 3 – http://walkingthruthedark.com/2018/04/20/today-is-another-day/