Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley is a name perhaps familiar to many of the parents who might be reading this. FS is a character that travels around the world. He has been many more places than I can dream about. He is on his way as we speak to Dallas to visit my son's grandmother. I thought about sending him to San Diego to stay with my sister-in-law for a spell. Just ran out of time. FS went with me to work one day as well. He met some of my co-workers, a security guard and almost met one of the judges that I work with. She was busy that afternoon. I know she would have been more than happy to have her photograph taken with Stanley. That leads me to the long-winded point. Stanley needs help to get from here to there. Most often it is the parents of Stanley who provide for him. In this photograph he is playing PS2 with my son. He won at that particular football game. I think LK is already beginning to comprehend the complex and delicate nature of interpersonal relationships. Too many of my clients only think of what they need; what they can get and certainly; what they deserve. This week, I heard too many lame excuses about who could not pay their rent and why. Who just needed a bit of a break and what I should do in order to facilitate that break for them. One of them looked at me with her fake sculptured nails while she told me that she needed help getting money for the damage deposit and first month's rent. I thought long and hard about this. She screamed when I suggested she might look in other places first. Her family; the strong JW community she touts as being better than mere Protestant faiths. I wanted to help her, but I think she has been back to the fish shop too many times. I think it is time we helped her learn how to fish on her own. Maybe then she will be better prepared for the next crisis that comes her way and less likely to resort to drug abuse. Of course, I could be wrong. Just maybe.