I wish I was here to tell you some good news. I wish I was here to tell you that we have a lawyer, have our boxing gloves out, and now can and fight CPS with our eyes wide open. I'm not here to tell you that.
A lawyer from HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) got a hold of me yesterday. I told him the situation, and he said this:
- There's too much water over the bridge now.
- We usually help members who are in the initial stages of the investigation.
- You're already in the middle of the investigation.
- You already let them in.
- You already let them talk to your kids. I don't know everything your kids told them. I don't know whether or not you'll lose them.
- If anything, get a criminal defense lawyer, Jared was breaking the law. Here are some names and numbers...
- I asked what I should do if they take the kids or try to put conditions on me to send them back to school. The answer: "Call us back."
- Familiarize yourself again with the homeschooling laws in your state, so you are more confident in speaking with them.
- You have been accepted though, and you can become a member.
So basically, to sum it up, my interpretation of this is: They already have enough to hang you on, but welcome to the HSLDA.
I must say, the amount of support here on Steemit is so astounding! Some of you are still saying don't let them in. You are right a hundred times over, but now It's too late. The day they first came is the day I was to put my foot down, the day my husband and I argued back and forth about it for hours and I finally gave in and said, "Okay, fine, have it your way, we will cooperate..." Before they stepped foot inside our house. Before they interviewed us. Before she interviewed the kids. That is when we gave up all our leverage. We are now at their mercy. If we choose to fight back now all they have to do is arrest Jared, as he already admitted guilt, and manipulate the children's interviews to make us look as bad as they want.
And believe me, that's exactly what would happen. We show them our teeth, they will show us their power. They will destroy us. As I'm typing this, there are tears in my eyes. This is not what I wanted to say.
The only other option is to flee, but where to, and for how long? Until the 60 days is up? If Jared were on board, I would still do it despite these questions. He is not. He's depressed and slightly agoraphobic right now, I can't get him to even run to the store for me, and just going to the playground the other day was a big hurdle. I love him to pieces, but this is just where he's at right now. He's not himself.
If you are just now learning what's happening, and would like to catch up, here are the other posts about our family's CPS dilemma:
It's happening
Still Together
My Actions Concerning CPS
Police and Social Worker Coming Today
Better than Expected
Between A Rock And A Hard Place
Thank You Family Protection
To change the subject, if you read my last post, I spoke of adopting the cat named Bear. I went to the store yesterday and got everything he would need, then I came home and set up his litter box and food dish, so everything would be ready. Afterwards, I went down to the humane society to go get him. I was confident he would be mine. He spent a year in the humane society without being adopted. Well when I got there, he was in his cage, and boy was he beautiful. The pictures didn't do him any justice!
A big sign hung on his cage, and it said, "Adopted." He was leaving that day.
What are the odds of that?
So I filled out an application for a 6 year old cat named Mr. Big. There really wasn't much of a selection, but Mr. Big really is a sweetheart. There are a few hang-ups. Unlike Bear, he has claws. One of the employees there told me of these little claw covers that I could glue to his claws, and he won't hurt the furniture or other people. He is also an inside/outside cat. The employee in charge said I cannot have him if I don't let him outside. I don't want him running all over the neighborhood, possibly getting hit by a car. We don't live on a farm...I hope he is satisfied with staying in our fenced in yard...they said they'd get back to me. Here's the picture I found on the humane society's website of him. Any suggestions on a what I should call this little fluffball? I don't really like the name "Mr. Big"...
I haven't been too heavy with picture taking lately, but I did get one of the girls painting.
My son said he didn't want to paint, he doesn't like painting, he never has, and he never will. So did I make him paint? No. One of the perks of homeschooling is we can be flexible that way! :)
Well, that's about all I have to write about today. Hope you all are keeping well! :)
Love, snowpea ❤
