I knew. I always knew the day would come. I would have to give up my world as I knew it, so that I could rebuild my world into ours. After six years of knowing, a phone call made this knowledge more than just a feeling. AT 2:00 A.M. My son called me regarding some mental health issues. These were words of self-infliction, and he was alone with his children. I did what most mothers would do. I called 911 and sent help. While I was on the phone with emergency, the police arrived at my son’s home and made a decision to remove my grandchildren from the home. When the dispatcher on the phone informed me that the children were being brought to the hospital, I jumped out of bed and headed to the emergency room.

When I arrived, I explained what my purpose was. I waited almost two hours for them to figure out what was going on. During my wait, I stepped outside and spoke to one of the police officers who informed me that they were waiting on a foster family to arrive for the children. I expressed my feelings toward this as no one even thought about trying to contact immediate family. I do not know if this is a normal thing when they remove family members. If it is, it needs to change. I was asked to wait for a DCYF worker to speak to me. As I waited, I also spoke to my son. He was so intoxicated I was literally tasting the wine on his breath. He said he was not drunk, and he had no idea where his kids were. He had no idea I was there to take the kids home with me. I didn’t argue with him as he complained about having to wait. I just listened to him until they called him in. I remember hoping that I was gone before he came out into the waiting room again.

The DCYF worker, she checked with her office and found that I had already been vetted by the office as the case was already opened a month prior. She helped me get the children into the van and made sure we had the proper safety seats in place. I drove my grandchildren home in hospital clothes and no shoes on the last day of January. When I brought them in the house, I tied plastic bags on their hospital socked feet so they could make it across the ice and into the house. In my mind, my son was going to have to straighten his life out now. In reality. I now have Guardianship of two children until they are eighteen years of age.