FEELING STRESSED, SMACK A KID! page 3

The next morning was spent in total chaos, as that we were having Easter dinner at my mothers home on Saturday. We have a large family so we try to have these things together early so that our families can spend time together on the actual day, and we get some extended family time as well. So by the time the girls were ready, it’s time to head to grandma’s house. About an hour there, I told Emily to wash her face. Children being what they are, and candy being what it is, Emily’s face was a bit messy. When she came from the bathroom, I told her to do it again, only this time with a wash cloth and soap. She is seven after all. The second time she came out of the bathroom I asked her what happened to her mouth. And without hesitation she said, "My Aunt Sue hit me"

Now as you may expect, I was less than thrilled about this information and told Emily to go to the kitchen and tell her grandmother and stepmother what was just said. In the mean time I spent my time digging my fingers into the arms of my mother’s chair. When my family came from the kitchen it was obvious that they were not happy about this either. We continued the dinner, and sent the children to play as we decided what would be done. After dinner we went to my sisters’ house, and had an Easter egg hunt. Which my sister videotaped with her cam corder. My sister asked Emily what had happened and again she said that her Aunt Sue hit her. That evening we took Emily to the ER at the local hospital and the doctor wrote that Emily had bruising to her lower lip due to a direct blow to the mouth. The hospital informed the police and Michigan Protective Services.

Remember that I live in the same county as the aunt. However, the mother lives in Bay County, some eighty miles to the south. As that Emily was required to be with her mother during the week following Easter she would be in Bay City. So now this is all a question of venue and for some reason Bay County wanted it. However the investigation of the PS worker showed that Emily was lying, and that she had no bruising. This was on Monday. Remember that the doctor had seen Emily on Saturday.

So we did what we had to do, PS and Friend of the Court said there was nothing I could do. So I kept her. I wasn’t going to let my baby get hurt anymore. So we home schooled her as that her mother had come and removed her from school once before. We filed for home school through the legal channels and everything was going smoothly. The next thing I know I’m in jail because I made my child truant. Later it would be discovered that the Bay County Friend of the Court worker was not only a former truancy officer, but was the one who pushed for this to begin with. It was also discovered that the warrants issued for me, (yes I said warrants plural) were for August 23, 2001 to present. I didn’t even have custody of Emily until Easter. However because I did the right thing, and protected my child I would pay for it. The second warrant and arrest was off the same charge (isn’t that double jeopardy?) was literally at the arraignment for the first warrant. They literally came into the courtroom and arrested me for the same charge, as I was there to plead for.