Enough

It's been a while, but a son in the state mental hospital is a daunting experience. I can only speak for myself, of course, so that is what I do.

Tuesday's visit: a fair amount of pacing; great smiles; a banana inhaled; coloring; leaning his cheek to my face, then the other cheek, several times, for one more kiss; at the end, he listened to my story reading and fell soundly asleep.

The drive to the visit - apprehensive. Used distraction techniques and compartmentalization to overcome memories of Caleb putting small objects from the environment into his mouth last time and the fact that the new clothes I purchased had still yet to be worn and seemed to disappear on the day I presented them, appropriately labeled, to the state hospital worker.

The drive home - relief. God's merciful presence at every turn. This is enough.