My son's new graffiti toon:
It's been a while since I wrote that post about my son getting in trouble with the law for graffiti. Things are so much different (and better) now!
He has been using his black book and markers and gave up spray paint, thank goodness! He is working on his art a lot more. He has been seeing an informal probation officer (who I wish understood and could help, but alas... she doesn't). Besides that, he applied at Job Corps and was accepted. He's been going for 2 weeks now, and he's doing great. He's getting up on his own every morning, and he's been able to stay all day every day except 2 when I was in the hospital. (FYI, he has high-functioning autism, so in most school settings he can't handle a full day). He just got his uniform yesterday and his bank account they helped him open, and he's really excited.
I'm sure most of you have heard bad things about Job Corps, but it is a really great program. Did you know that it is set up so that each student progresses at their own pace? That relieves the pressure of having to keep up and meet deadlines for kids who have trouble with that in most schools. It makes a huge difference. They also provide medical and dental services, driver's education, GED prep for kids who don't have their diploma, instruction in applying for a job and going to interviews, life skills, managing money, and experience in working as a team and meeting the requirements as if they were going to a job every day. They have really impressed me a lot.
So right now it is good to be a parent :)
]]>8 a.m. this morning, the doorbell rings. I thought maybe it was my brother because he's an early bird like that. No such luck. It was a police officer here to question my son about graffiti.
He has been lectured so many times about not damaging other people's property and keeping it on paper. He's been punished over and over, but I just can't get through to him. He thinks he's getting "rep". Well, come on, we live in Maine for Pete's sake. There is no rep to get in Maine. Besides punishing him, I've also bought him some trucker hats to paint on so he can start his own business. He's been working on his own Cafe Press store too.
That will have to wait though. He's going to get a summons for his graffiti. He was summonsed last month for the same thing.
Side Note: Did you know that when teenagers under 18 get in trouble (at least in Maine), they don't get arrested? They're just handed a piece of paper with a court date on it and then a couple weeks later the juvenile corrections worker calls and sets up an appointment to figure out what to do: Pay a fine, pay restitution, or do community service. If it isn't too serious, they don't even have to go to the court date before the judge. What is this teaching anyone? I want my son booked, damn it. I want them to take his fingerprints, get a mug shot of him, and throw him behind bars for a day or two. Now THAT would teach him a lesson.
I've been volunteering with him at a local food pantry as he works off his community service. I'm happy he is being of service to someone, but it isn't teaching him a damn thing, obviously. He couldn't even work an hour without complaining.
I don't want this to reflect poorly on my family either. We're not like that. Heck, we don't even speed, let alone break the law. I am so angry that he thinks it's okay to deface property.
It's so sad. He is really a talented artist, but he's just throwing his life away right now. Hopefully something will happen soon
Sometimes I don't like being a parent.
My son's new graffiti toon:
I'm looking forward to a relaxing afternoon today, watching The Golden Compass and working on my new amigurumi crochet patterns (I wish I could tell you about them - I'm so excited!). This will be a much-deserved break after a very busy week.
About a year ago, I took in my youngest son's friend. Things didn't go very well, and he had to move out due to behavior issues. Well, a year changes a lot. He is now much more mature, working on his GED, working, and even joined the Army. He just passed his Army test last week. My rule is that as long as he works hard and follows the rules, I will help him as much as I can and provide a place for him to stay. Poor kid was living in a motel room and was very depressed before moving in with us. Fingers crossed and toes crossed that this works out. He's almost 18, and I want him to have a good chance in life.
Not sure if I mentioned this before, but my youngest is a graffiti artist. He's been working on it for a few years now. Unfortunately, he got it in his head a few months ago that he was going to start tagging places to get rep. Well, we live in Maine. There is no rep to get in Maine. I have talked to him over and over again about how that is vandalizing property and it is against the law. He didn't see it that way. Until the police came to our door. Yeah. My brilliant kid decided to tag the bathroom at the local grocery store while I was shopping. On the bathroom wall, he wrote, "you can't catch me." Funny part is, the police showed up at our door about 20 minutes after we got home. I was still putting away groceries. Guess they could catch him. Why are teenagers so stupid? So now he has a juvenile corrections officer he has to see twice a month. She is going to let us know in a few days what the reparations will be, whether he can work off the damage and repair it and do community service or if we have to pay for it. I'm really hoping they let him repair it himself and do community service. He'll learn a much better lesson from that.
In a way, I'm glad he got caught. He was starting to think he was almost an adult and didn't have to listen to me anymore. Now he will be under this corrections officer's rules for the next six months with court hanging over his head if he does anything wrong. That will help me keep him in line.
I got prescriptions for Lyrica and Naprosyn last week. I can't believe it, but they really work! I'm catching up on laundry. My house is cleaner than it has been in months. I'm still really tired and sleep a lot, but it has definitely improved my life. I have to get an MRI next week for my lower back. There were a few weeks last month when I could barely put any weight on my left hip. I could only stand on it for a few minutes at a time and then I'd have to lie down and rest it. That was the most horrible pain I've ever had (probably because I've forgotten childbirth :P).
Now for a movie and some crocheting...
And now for something completely different but just as amazing as Dale Chihuly. Visit the art gallery of Scott Wade, before the rain washes it away...