Last time we were in this courtroom was July 3, 2015. Eli had been having periodic appearances to update the judge on his community service “progress” and to “pay” on his fines. He was in active addiction and those things just weren’t getting done. Long story short, his next court date was continued because he had entered inpatient treatment.

He was concerned that the judge might decide to put him in jail for not having completed the community service or finished paying off the fines. As we sat waiting for the judge, I leaned over to him and said “Go up there with the energy of imagining that he is going to say, ‘You’re doing a good job, Eli, keep up the good work.'”

When the judge walked in, my heart sank. I had seen this guy in action. He had told a defendant once that her court fines were to be treated like taxes and had to be paid before anything else. This was in response to her comment that she had used the money she had to get her water turned back on. When I saw him, I lost my head a bit and leaned over and warned Eli that this guy is pretty strict, thereby reactivating all of Eli’s worry about the outcome.

The judge called Eli up to the stand. Asked how many hours he had left, how much he was paying on his fines today, and how much he could pay in 30 days. And then he said, “You’re doing a good job, Eli, keep up the good work.” LOL! It was completely not what I was thinking he would ever tell Eli! But I loved it that he did.

Tune in tomorrow! I will be putting up a new post by Eli.