Phase Two-Week Three

I really thought by this time Ron would be home and settled. He's finally home, but far from settled. As of last Wednesday, he was still in the Halfway House from 7pm-8am, and would leave every morning to come home and work. He would get a 52 hour pass for the weekend, but by Sunday afternoon was extremely depressed about having to go back the Halfway House. The director and counselor kept telling him it was just a matter of getting a signature on a piece of paper, but days would go by and nothing happened. Last Thursday was his counselor's last day before a week's vacation, and Ron knew if it didn't get done then, he'd be stuck for another week. How many times can you keep asking the same question? He did not want to get too annoying.

Tuesday night we met Donna and Kay for a quick dinner before bridge and before Ron had to leave for the Halfway House. He was terribly depressed, to the stage where he was quiet, sad and disconnected. I was worried, because I have noticed that each day around 4pm he gets very depressed and angry. He knows that his paperwork is just sitting on someone's desk to be signed, but that wasn't getting done. Anyway, I went off to play bridge Tuesday night concerned with how this emotional rollercoaster was effecting Ron. Wednesday morning I got a call from him at 8am, and he was a completely different person. He was happy, excited about the day and about the weekend ahead, and he had made an important decision. He recognized that he has done all he can to get his paperwork complete, and he is going to simply wait it out, knowing that this will be over soon. He is looking back to where he was just a few weeks ago, and is grateful for the freedom he has. This is an inconvenience and time consuming, and he hates it, but he is facing it as he has everything else. He has done what he can, it's out of his control, and it will end. Best of all, he has a much diffent attitude today. I'm happy for that.

Wednesday night I went to play poker in my monthly game and when I turned my phone back on I had a message from Ron. He would be released from the Halfway House the next morning. He was so excited. All he had to do was fill out a few forms and he'd be on his way. His counselor called him at 9pm to tell him the news. Who knows how these things work? I wouldn't even try to figure this all out. Anyway, he's home and we're happy, and it only took 15 days to get him home. I know from the experiences of others that he could have ended up staying there until October. So I can say in this case we hoped for the best, and got it.