Hebdomus Horribilus

It's been a month this week. Hence the title. Remember, anyone, a few years back when when Queen Elizabeth talked about her annus horribilus? Well, this week's been horribilus. Since the Romans didn't reckon time in weeks, and there isn't really a word for week in Latin, I got to choose between hebdomas, which means "seven days," and septimana, which was a later Latin form for "seven days." I liked the first better, so there! As for the ending...well, I'm no Latin scholar.

Jay had his day(s) in court this week. The first, Tuesday, was for a domestic battery charge brought against him by his ex-wife during their divorce proceedings. Because of our economic times, he had to rely on a public defender. If you would ever like to have the experience of being treated like something on the bottom of a shoe, commit a crime (or, in Jay's case, just find someone to charge you with one) and ask for a public defender. Yeah, it's like that. If he were to be convicted of this crime, (which he did not commit) he would be dishonorably discharged from the Illinois National Guard. He was offered a "deal," which involved pleading guilty to a lesser charge, battery, which would not have the same penalty as far as the Guard is concerned. (Actually, it's not the Guard, but the state of Illinois which would not let him continue in the Guard, but that's a tiny point.) So he can plead innocent, likely lose in court (after all, a woman accused him, so he must have done it, right? Ladies, you have power in a court of law.) and lose the Guard and all his military benefits. OR he could lie, plead guilty to a lesser charge, and be good with the legal system of the state of Illinois. Such choices. I am embarrassed to say that I have no more faith in our legal system.

His second day was yesterday, where his divorce was finally...final. He got a great deal there. She gets the kids, although custody is technically joint. He gets all the debt and gets to see them for 2 hours every week and then every other weekend. The cherry on top is the third of his income that he will pay in child support. I know, lots of dads get that deal. But find me a few who got that deal when the mom has threatened the lives of the kids, committed serial adultery, and physically and mentally abused Dad during the course of the marriage. But it's done.

I had just parked the car in the driveway after court yesterday when I learned a horseshoer was coming to trim our horses' feet. In the course of getting them ready for his arrival, mine went ballistic. The two were tied together to a pole in our yard. They pulled it out and went romping through our yard. At the end of it all, Mary's horse, Wakiya, had been hit in the face by the pole. The good news is that Mary has found a new place to volunteer and learn about whether she'd like to be a large animal vet or technician. We got to watch the surgery while two vets pulled about 5 quarter-sized pieces of bone out of Wakiya's face and stitched up 4 deep cuts on her legs and belly. She'll recover beautifully, but she won't be beautiful. Without that bone, her face is going to look pretty bad. But Mary still loves her.

I'm praying for a quiet weekend...