Braden went to an overnight birthday party at Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor waterpark in the Poconos. He had a great time, and now keeps bugging that, "We really have to go there, mom."

Keith is being a pain in the neck about my plans for moving things around. The goddam piano is still where it was. Pretty soon, I'm going to go to a truck stop, dressed like a prostitute, and lure about 6 horny truck drivers here, only to have them move the piano. I have book group here next Friday, and I'd like it done by then.

I bought spray paint and today I'm going to repaint my patio furniture. It's a purple color. We'll see how that turns out. I'll post a picture when I'm finished.

I called the home yesterday, because my "30 days of no contact" was up. I talked to the supervisor at the Acopian where JJ is, and she said she'd check and call me back. She called me back and said, "I just checked with JJ's caseworker, and he said he already told you this, but you're not allowed any contact with JJ until he's out of the Acopian." FIrst of all, I left two messages for the caseworker, and he never called me back, so he never told me this. I asked how long he'd be there, and she said she didn't know. I asked if I could just talk to him on the phone, and she said no. Then, through my tears, I asked how Robert (the other boy we had over) was doing, and she said, "he's a mess." But, that's all she would say. I know it's time to write a letter to the editor, or contact someone else, but I'm afraid to do that without talking to JJ first. You have no idea, but this place is liable to get pissed if I do that, and they'll ship him out of there without blinking an eye. I don't even know if they've told him we're still not allowed to contact him, or if he thinks we just don't care anymore. I can't stop worrying about him. Keith and I made up this plan yesterday to go down there, and we'd each get to beat up the people we like the least. It made me feel good for five minutes.