After 2 years and 7 months, Ethan will be released from prison today!! This is my view for the day, with about another 20 cars behind me. This is where we wait for vans to deliver our people. Apparently, it’s going to be in alphabetical order, so Williamson won’t be the first one out. There’s no shelter, no port-a-potty, it’s 90 degrees and sunny on this October day. Can’t begin to say how much I miss the fall weather in Ohio this time of year.
As I drove down here today, I felt the presence of my dad sitting in the passenger seat next to me. He was smiling and excited. From the back seat, I felt my grandmother leaning forward talking to me and Dad while my granddaddy and step- father quietly sat back smiling. I felt like I had a car full of happy people who have loved my child immeasurably in their life and afterward. I felt all the millions of prayers of people far and wide, many I don’t even know, who have prayed for my son, for me, and for his brother. We’re all here anticipating the arrival of a reborn man. All of it, ALL OF IT, has been worth where we are now. We have all learned so much and I hope our honesty about this journey has helped others.
As always, while sitting here, I’m listening to everyone around me. I know one of Ethan’s main goals now is to help others who have no one and feel helpless. As I listen, I can’t help but think that many of these men would do well not to leave with the people who are here to greet them, that it has little chance of going well from here. There is a lot of talk about how much they’re going to party when their person comes home, how many times they’ve gone through this routine, the language, and the families who are already yelling at each other. There are people here with little kids, one mother who has been screaming at her toddler to shut up and be patient,. The more she screams, the more the baby cries, and I can’t help but cry for her too. The expletives and venom this mother is spewing is just evil. What chance does that child have in that home?
The cycles have probably repeat in many of these families. This hasn't been the case in our family though. All that we've gone through with Ethan is unknown to us. I've been steering blindly as we've negotiated this path to this point, doing what I think best at the moment. Does this mean that this is all an anomaly for us? I pray it is. Does this mean this will be an anomaly in Ethan's life? I pray so. I have high hopes today. I can't fathom going backwards, but I know that chance is there. For now, I'm going to hug my son, love my son, and do my best to help guide him from here.
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