Tuesday was the big day...the day of Larry's sentencing. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this post and part 2 here. Monday was pretty terrible, as you can imagine. I spent the day feeling like everything was being done for the last time for a while...the last time we'd go out for lunch...the last time Larry and Nora would have a bath...the last time he'd read her a bedtime story. I shed many tears here and there throughout the day...just the thought that we'd be going to court the next day and that I'd likely be coming home without Larry was enough to send my emotions all over the place. I was more sad at the idea that he'd be missing out on Nora's life than anything. We were, of course, preparing for the worst. The attorney told us to plan for prison time...not to expect anything less.
After a restless night's sleep, we woke up pretty early on Tuesday. I got Nora ready to go to the sitter's house because the lawyer thought she'd be a distraction and wanted us to leave her home. I had her all dressed and ready to go and Larry carried her to the car so my mom could take her to Erica's house. I stayed inside crying my eyes out...this would most likely be the last time he'd see her for a while...and even then it'd be behind glass on visitation day. I don't know how he made it through the morning without crying...but I guess I was enough of a basket case for both of us.
We picked up Larry's friend Mike, who along with another friend, Bob, was speaking to the judge on Larry's behalf. The tension in the air in the car was terrible. I felt bad that neither of us were chitty chatty...I was too busy concentrating on how difficult the next hour (or year) was going to be. Making sure not to be late, we arrived at the courthouse fifteen minutes early and began the longest wait of our lives. Larry's mom and brother were there, along with my mom, grandma, brother, and Mike and Bob. I kind of zoned out while we were waiting...focusing only on the feeling of Larry's hand in mine...trying to memorize every thing about him...
The prosecutor made his comments and then things were handed over to Larry's attorney, who introduced Mike, Bob, and Larry's mom to the judge. Each of them spoke for a few minutes. His mom made sure to tell the judge how important Larry is to her business because he's been running things for her since his father passed away...and she ended by saying, simply, "I believe he's going to stay on the right track...because I believe in him..." It was very matter of fact and brought the first tear to my eye since we had entered the courtroom. Mike spoke next...pointing out how well Larry has been doing in AA while being out on bond. Dr. Bob took the podium to confirm what Mike had said...that Larry's been doing everything he should be as an active AA member...he also mentioned that a very real medical problem caused Larry to relapse. I am thankful that Bob and Mike spoke to the judge...they both really came through to help Larry by vouching for him.
The last person to speak to the judge was Larry himself. It took him several minutes to compose himself after hearing all the nice things his mom, Mike, and Bob had said about his character and how well he has been doing. I sat there willing him to stop crying enough to talk to the judge...all the while crying myself. The sheriff deputy that was in the courtroom handed a tissue to Larry...I thought this was especially sweet...here he was, a big burly deputy...having the compassion to pass a tissue to a crying, admitted felon. Larry told the judge about getting clean...helping his mom with the business...going to counseling...attending AA meetings...and his plans to go back to college to be a counselor to help others. The part that really got me, though, was when he told the judge how thankful he is that he was clean before Nora was born...that something like this had to happen to force him to stop using.
The judge's final decision was to sentence Larry to 120 days in the county jail with work release privileges, three years of probation, a $1000 fine, and 100 hours of community service. All in all, we feel very grateful to the judge for taking Larry's mom's business and our family into consideration. He reports to jail on the 27th...and the end day for this whole situation is the 24th of July...not that I'm counting or anything! This is, by far, the best outcome that there could have been. Larry has to be driven to work and brought back to the jail. The added bonus to that is that he works a half hour away...so he'll have some time each day to visit with me and Nora in the car on the way. Another thing that is pretty nice is that he's the manager at the business...so he'll be working everyday...to give him the most out of jail time he can have. So while this is definitely a punishment...and Nora won't get to take a bath with her Daddy or have him read her stories at bedtime for a little while...it's a shorter and better sentence than we ever imagined. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to bathe her by myself for the next few months, but I am thankful that my prayers were answered. He'll be out before the end of summer...before my birthday...before our 5th anniversary...before Nora is talking and walking...before Christmas...and before Nora's first birthday. I feel relief that we're on the downside of things now. Larry has a strict set of instructions and requirements to complete a drug court program when he gets out...along with his community service and fines...but we're both ready to tackle whatever we need to to keep his disease in check...
Thank you to our friends and family, whose support means more than we can ever put into words. Thank you to all who have emailed me to see how we're doing. We're doing much better now. We're looking forward to putting this behind us. We're going to make it...and that's the best part of all...because had you asked me a year ago I wouldn't have felt so sure. I think I am a stronger person having gone through this...although truthfully there have been times that I would have traded in this opportunity to gain strength for something a bit less stressful. I know one day soon we'll reflect on this and see it as the beginning of a much better life than we were going to have, had Larry continued to use drugs. There are far better things in store for us.
