December 5, 2019. The day I have been dreading for many months. The day my son, Andrew would be sentenced and sent to prison for 13 months.
Every moment spent with my son over the last several months have been precious. I could almost hear the clock ticking in the background.
It's been an emotional roller coaster for my son, his fiance, his sister, his friends and me. I am his mother.
I woke up early this morning. At 5:30 a.m. My son told me he would like to spend his last few hours of freedom with his family. His sentencing hearing was at 4:30 p.m. He and I would start the day with a big breakfast.
He chose Biscuits Cafe. In Gresham. It was a fine choice. The food was excellent. Andrew and I ate well. We knew it would be our last breakfast together for a long time. I let him talk. He said he was ready to go. To start doing his time. And to put this behind him.
And build a new life.
And build a new life.
He talked about how he was not afraid. But he was worried about his fiance. That she would be sad. And he would miss his newborn son. His baby, AJ was born November 5th. Once month old on the day his dad wold go to prison.
But we have all marveled that this baby was born 24 days early and at a healthy weight! His mom's original due date was November 28th! Andrew would have only had 8 days with his newborn before going away.
He is a beautiful child. Very calm and easy to care for.
Another amazing development is that the judge allowed my son to remain out of prison for 4 months, on an ankle bracelet and under supervision to be present at the birth of his son.
And speaking of miracles, if we had not raised bail for Andrew, he would have gone straight from county jail to prison. There would be no baby!
Anyway, back to the events.
Our food was incredible. I had "chicken fried chicken", two eggs over medium, a biscuit with marionberry jam, homefries and coffee. Andrew had biscuits and gravy, two eggs, hashbrowns and coffee.
We cleaned out plates!
Then Andrew looked at me and said he needed to get home. "I want to spend as much time as possible with my fiance and son". I nodded.
I payed and we headed out into the cold. He had quit work 2 weeks ago to spend the remaining time with his baby and fiance. He had no money. He looked at me and sheepishly asked if I could buy him a pack of cigarettes. "I won't be able to smoke in there", he said.
So we walked together to the 7-11 up the street. I bought him cigarettes. Then we stood at the bus stop, waiting for the bus. Several of his friends called to say goodbye. One friend posted on Facebook to "Keep your head up, and get into a good routine. It will make the time fly by". I showed him the post. It was from a childhood friend.
"That's very good advice", I told him.
Then I asked him if it was o.k. if I kept a daily blog. He told me it was. I told him to call daily and tell me something about his day. After 13 months, when he is released, I'll print this out. There might even be a book to be written. Perhaps to help someone else. Or at least we will have the memories. To show him how far he's come.
When we got back to the house, his fiance, her mom and baby were waiting in the living room by the Christmas tree. My daughter, her husband and little girl were coming soon. They were going to babysit Baby Andrew while Andrew, his fiance and mom headed downtown.
My heart began to thud in my chest. I told myself to stay calm and positive. This was his day. It was going to be painful seeing him led away in handcuffs, but then he will be moving forward. Toward release.
Several friends stopped by to say their goodbyes. Suddenly it was time to go. We piled in the car. My heart was thudding in my chest. But I was determined to hold it together. To show strength and a positive attitude for my son.
Then my son's fiance's father called. She put him on speaker phone. He wanted to speak to my son. He gave him some manly words of advice and then, in his beautiful Latino voice told him to take care of himself and he loved him. After he hung up, I noticed all of us were wiping tears from our eyes.
My son's fiance laughed and said her dad's voice often made people cry.
But there were many more tears. And hugs. As we walked towards the courthouse my son jokingly said, "Look at Mom. We're all crying and she was walking along joyfully!"
I stopped and looked at him. I told him I was not joyful, just relieved that he was on his way towards putting this behind him.
In the courtroom, we all stood when the judge entered. He is a very compassionate judge. He allowed my son to defer his sentence until after the birth of his son. He recommended the DISP program, an intensive drug and alcohol probation program that reduces jail time. And he has given Andrew many positive words of encouragement.
He greeted us and congratulated Andrew on his progress. He looked him straight in the eye and said, "Mr. Jefferson, you are not the same man that appeared before me at the beginning of this journey. I commend you on turning your life around. Unfortunately the next phase of the journey will be difficult as you will be spending time in jail. But you have already begun you DISP program with a jail sentence hanging over you. You have passed all your UA's and attended the recommended classes. You will continue to succeed now that you have made these positive changes. You will be a good role model for your son".
Andrew at that point raised his hand and thanked the judge for all he had done for his case. The judge looked sincerely moved. I imagine he does not have many people thanking him before he sends them away to prison.
The sentencing hearing was short. Too short. Because Andrew's attorney told him he could hug us, but not leave the courtroom. The doors opened, and two female deputies came in. They looked very serious. One was carrying handcuffs.
I almost lost it right there. But Andrew looked at us and said he would be o.k. He mouthed, "I love you" to his fiance. He thanked his lawyer. He even thanked the very stern D.A. She smiled slightly and told us to take care.
And then they took him out of the courtroom. The heavy door slammed shut. And so did a little door in my heart.
But I had to remain strong. My son's fiance and mother and I were driving back home. To where my grandson was waiting.
It was dark, cold and wet outside. It was only 5:30 p.m., but it felt much later. We made our way to the parking garage in silence. The I-84 freeway was bumper-to-bumper traffic. We all let out our breath and started talking about what lay ahead. And how proud we were of Andrew in court. And how blessed we were with the judge and his attorney.
The last year had been difficult. And what lay ahead in the immediate future had many unknown trials. But we had come this far.
Suddenly my fiance's phone rang. It was the Multnomah County Jail. She answered the phone. I heard my son's voice say, "Hello Baby!"
To be continued....
Then my son's fiance's father called. She put him on speaker phone. He wanted to speak to my son. He gave him some manly words of advice and then, in his beautiful Latino voice told him to take care of himself and he loved him. After he hung up, I noticed all of us were wiping tears from our eyes.
My son's fiance laughed and said her dad's voice often made people cry.
But there were many more tears. And hugs. As we walked towards the courthouse my son jokingly said, "Look at Mom. We're all crying and she was walking along joyfully!"
I stopped and looked at him. I told him I was not joyful, just relieved that he was on his way towards putting this behind him.
In the courtroom, we all stood when the judge entered. He is a very compassionate judge. He allowed my son to defer his sentence until after the birth of his son. He recommended the DISP program, an intensive drug and alcohol probation program that reduces jail time. And he has given Andrew many positive words of encouragement.
He greeted us and congratulated Andrew on his progress. He looked him straight in the eye and said, "Mr. Jefferson, you are not the same man that appeared before me at the beginning of this journey. I commend you on turning your life around. Unfortunately the next phase of the journey will be difficult as you will be spending time in jail. But you have already begun you DISP program with a jail sentence hanging over you. You have passed all your UA's and attended the recommended classes. You will continue to succeed now that you have made these positive changes. You will be a good role model for your son".
Andrew at that point raised his hand and thanked the judge for all he had done for his case. The judge looked sincerely moved. I imagine he does not have many people thanking him before he sends them away to prison.
The sentencing hearing was short. Too short. Because Andrew's attorney told him he could hug us, but not leave the courtroom. The doors opened, and two female deputies came in. They looked very serious. One was carrying handcuffs.
I almost lost it right there. But Andrew looked at us and said he would be o.k. He mouthed, "I love you" to his fiance. He thanked his lawyer. He even thanked the very stern D.A. She smiled slightly and told us to take care.
And then they took him out of the courtroom. The heavy door slammed shut. And so did a little door in my heart.
But I had to remain strong. My son's fiance and mother and I were driving back home. To where my grandson was waiting.
It was dark, cold and wet outside. It was only 5:30 p.m., but it felt much later. We made our way to the parking garage in silence. The I-84 freeway was bumper-to-bumper traffic. We all let out our breath and started talking about what lay ahead. And how proud we were of Andrew in court. And how blessed we were with the judge and his attorney.
The last year had been difficult. And what lay ahead in the immediate future had many unknown trials. But we had come this far.
Suddenly my fiance's phone rang. It was the Multnomah County Jail. She answered the phone. I heard my son's voice say, "Hello Baby!"
To be continued....
No comments:
Post a Comment