Aunt arrives, I finish getting ready and am out the door by 7:25am. I have yet to figure out why I used to be able to get up, get ready and get out the door in less than an hour and these days it just doesn't happen. Am I just old and moving slower?! I pulled up to Mom's, get out in the pouring rain, run in and she starts apologizing that she didn't hear me pull-up. I'm not sure how she expected to hear me pull up when the wind is blowing like crazy and the rain is coming down in sheets! She tries to usher me out the door, because we are running late. I demand one swallow of water to take my AM half of a pill and then we are out the door. I literally look at my Dad and say, "Hi. Bye."
We arrive to Biggby's after I've made apologies for running late and the fact that I want to go to Biggby's because I know I can get my DDHC and it is sugar and fat free versus my mom's normal McDonald's run for her coffee where nothing comes out as sugar or fat free. All is forgiven, I run in get her coffee and my DDHC, along with a plain bagel and cream cheese to insure my blood sugar doesn't drop too low during court proceedings. Why is it at a coffee house when you tell the barista that you just want a coffee with cream they look at you like you are retarded? I'm sorry, I don't drink the nasty stuff and I know my mom's version of coffee is whatever is on sale, Maxwell House v. Folgers. Back in the car and off to the courthouse we go.
We sit in the car while cigarettes are finished and then brave the nasty-ass weather to go in after we see the foster parents enter. We go upstairs and wait as the crowd starts to gather. There is an impressive lot of us there once everyone arrives. The sad thing is, this isn't my first go around with this same type of situation, and I'm always amazed at how many professionals are available after things go badly, but never before. Roll call: 2 prosecuting students & their professor; current CPS worker; former CPS worker just "observing"; foster parents; two doctors~the treating psychologist who could have been mistaken for a criminal (long hair, sloppy dress, creepy-dude look) & the ER doc that treated the boys they were removed from their mom's home who needs to seriously be checked for Type II diabetes; a very serious narcotics Detective (I was afraid his face may crack if he even thought about smiling); the boys' attorney who relieved some of my fears of passing the bar; the foster care worker from FIA; the current CASA woman appointed by the judge to monitor the case and to interact with the boys and mom throughout the last year; the former CASA woman; the Parenting Coach assigned to give mom classes on how to be a better mom; Paternal Grandma (my mom); me; ex-sil; Defense Counsel; and new friend of ex-sil's who called herself 'like a sister' of ex-sil. I'm still confused by the fact that with all of the "assigned personnel" that this situation could go so badly since 6 of these professionals were involved after the first incident Fall of 2008 through the second incident on February 6th, 2009 to present. Who missed what? Is my ex-sil that smart? She barely passed her GED classes...and she has never been nominated for a Golden Globe, but somehow she fooled them all.
The Judge takes the bench...preliminary motions are made...orders entered...scheduling conflicts advised of...Prosecutor's Opening Statement is made. In less than 3 minutes, the Opening Statement is over, Defense Counsel has reserved his right to give an opening statement and a recess is taken so Defense Counsel can appear in another courtroom at 9am. I exit the courtroom and call mom who was ushered in to the hallway due to her status as a witness but is no where to be found. As I stand in the hall waiting for her to answer her cell phone the ex-sil walks by me. She gives me a dirty look like I have betrayed her. Seriously? Seriously?! I make a flippant sound of "Hmph." (It sounds better than I'm expressing here...think 'Hmm...I got voice mail...interesting.") I meet mom downstairs and we take cover under a neighboring building while I give her the lowdown of the exhibits entered thus far and why we are in a recess already, plus the fact that the Judge has to take a recess from 11:15am-2pm!
We watch ex-sil exit the courthouse with her pseudo-sister and stand in the rain to smoke their cigarettes. We then enter the courthouse and head back upstairs. What Defense Counsel thought may only take 5 mins, but the judge said would take 30 mins really only took 15 so he begins frantically looking for his client. Apparently there was some fear that she was so upset that she may just leave...yeah, that would have been very fun and would have made for a great paper for my Small Firms class (yes, another class 4 years in where I have to go and observe court and yes, yet again I will use family court appearances as my subject matter!). I tell him that his client is outside smoking. He looks shocked that me, the evil mystery woman, would give him such information. (He would be even more shocked if he recalled that he cross-examined me years ago for an unrelated matter and tried to call me a liar on the stand and I responded with something like, Mr. Defense Attorney maybe you know more than my Judge, but I'm going by what he told me at the last court hearing,which was that unless I have a signed copy of the final order in my hand not to consider myself legally divorced and if I was to get remarried I would be committing bigamy which he would be sure to have me prosecuted for, so I'm sorry in answer to your question I am your client's legal wife. I know you don't like the answer, but I'm just telling you the truth.")**Yes, I am very mouthy when I enter a courthouse!! LOL
I enter the courtroom and wait and wait and wait. Someone finally comes in and tells someone in a loud whisper, sorry...we all hear what you are saying when we are in such a small room, that the respondent is considering signing off her rights. Finally a decision is made and for the fist time in a long time, my ex-sil makes the smartest decision and chooses to stop the trial and sign off her rights to her two boys. We spend the next hour watching people scramble to get paperwork together and get this back in front of the Judge to enter this matter on the record and get an order entered before the Judge leaves for his 11:15am recess.
By noon mom and I are sitting at Red Lobster, drinking our Sunset Passion Pina Coladas and eating our Lobster Fondue after she called the necessary people to tell them it was over and then recaps how she told the CPS worker that she thinks the fact that I was there and when ex-sil walked past me combined with the fact that mom was sequestered as a witness made her realize that her battleship had been sunk and that is why she finally made the choice she made. I, of course, then nicknamed myself "The Enforcer". Who knew I had so much power?! Well, okay...I always have, but it is nice that others are finally realizing it too!
Everything is over and done with... We wait 21 days to ensure no appeals are filed, which there won't be, and then the adoption procedures will begin for the foster family to finally make my nephews a legal part of their family. Only one time did my mom break down today, but I think later tonight will be a different story. She was fully vested in this matter and had made it one of her top priorities for what happened today, to happen one way or another.
I walked in the house at 1:30pm today with the intent to immediately start on my list, but by 2pm the emotional strain of the day was pounding in my head, so I opted to lay down a bit. My man called at 3pm to see how things went today and for the last 2 hours I've been trying to catch up on a few things, waiting for the munchkin to get home so I can give him a huge hug and kiss and go and grab dinner before he leaves with my aunt for the weekend.
