"Anything I Can Do..."

April 18, 2013

It's been 3 weeks since my son was arrested.

I count every new event from that day.  Easter was Day #3, for example.  My return to work after Spring Break was Day #10.  My first visit to see him was Day #16.  And so on.  I'm not sure when I'll stop counting.  Thursdays are just hard.

But through all of this I have been supported by amazing people.  Not only my family, and my friends, but people who know my son and me or used to know us.  My Facebook inbox is filled with messages promising prayers and offering kind words.  These messages usually end with "let me know if I can do anything for you".  While this is a standard closing phrase in messages of sympathy, and most people would just see it as such and leave it at that, I actually take people up on it.

Here's what I ask of them:

"If you hear anyone talking about my son and what has happened, be sure to tell them that he is a good boy and he just made a terrible mistake.  He is not a criminal; he's mentally ill, but he's now seeking treatment."

I hope that it's not too much to ask of these kind souls who really just want to make me feel better.  I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds by actually asking something of them in return.  But I don't regret my requests.  Hey, they asked if there was anything they can do.  And yes.  Yes, there is.