The last few days have been very wonderful. Saturday I had a great confession and the Royals made some nice trades at the MLB trading deadline. Sunday I went to Mass and shared the Eucharist with my Catholic family. Then, the coup de grâce on Monday. I am immense blessed to have a job (I feel like this is in almost all of my posts, if it is, it is only because it is true) that pays me a decent wage and that I get to help those in need. At the same time, dealing with the lives of abused/neglected children and adults who are no longer physically or mentally able to care for themselves causes me a great deal of depression on many days. However, Monday was that rare day that made everything, every sacrifice, all the bureaucratic BS that comes with working for a state agency, all the long drives, the long hours, all the struggles, all the lives ruined, all the childhoods destroyed, everything, worth while.
My docket days (days I am in court) are almost always full days. I normally am either on the road or in court by 8:30 and get home at 6:00 at the earliest. Most of my counties do not come with a lunch break, or break of any kind, and I am involved in every case. Monday was one of two monthly docket days I have in my local county. After lunch the first case we took up was a case involving an elderly lady in her 90's who was taken into protective custody because some questions about her ability to care for herself. This is an amazing woman. I can only hope to be half as spry as this lady at 60-something much less 90-something. She was sharp, knew what was going on and kept an immaculate home. She may need some help around her house, but she certainly gave no appearance in court that she was ready for a nursing home. Her problem? Her children wanted to put her in a nursing home and take what little money and property she had.
I called the son to the witness stand first and started to question him about what he had been doing to and with his mother's property while she was away getting evaluated. He started lying almost immediately and didn't stop until he got off of the stand (to his credit I think he was truthful about his name and where he lived). It was a gross display vile human behavior. This man actually had a power of attorney and was on her bank accounts. He could have taken her money and property at any time, but he waits until she is in protective custody and at the hospital being examined -- a situation he most likely had some hand in bringing about. The most telling part was that his wife was in the courtroom when he testified but couldn't even tell the same lies he had just told. The son said he took a 22-inch flat screen TV from his mother's home because, according to him, his mother had said it wasn't working and had asked him weeks before to take it to his house and take a look at it (and he just happens to do it while she wasn't there). His wife gets on the stand a few minutes later and said her husband took the TV "for safe keeping." Mind you, this lady lives in a retirement community of around three thousand people.
At the end of the hearing, the judge ordered the son to return all property and money he had take by the end of the week. Needless to say, there were a lot of emotions in the courtroom, happiness on the part of myself, the lady, her attorney and my clients. Sadness on the part of this lady's son and daughter-in-law. I would like to think they also were embarrassed, but given that they have said they feel they were persecuted, I don't know how likely that is.
I know the Holy Spirit worked through me that day to rectify the situation for this lady, at least to what we know about. I hope and pray this family will be healed and this wonderful lady's children will realize the blessing they have in her and she will be able to forgive them.
Certainly I cannot talk about how great my life is without mentioning my wonderful wife. She is the most important person in my life and I would be much less of a person without her. I am doing this job and working where I work because of her and I thank God for her being a part of my life every day. I struggle with focusing on my blessings rather than what I don't have. I know the events of the last few days have really opened my eyes and heart to exactly how blessed I am. May God bless you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
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