I worked part-time out of the house for my mother s executive recruiting business. It wasn t long before Paul was expelled from the Lighthouse Ranch. The Dupage County Crisis Intervention Team met us at the door when we brought him home because of Paul s history of threatening behavior. Before long, it was a weekly occurrence for us to either pick Paul up at the police department or for a squad car to be sitting in our driveway while the officer inside filled out a runaway report. There is not enough space to list the trauma he created in our lives during this time.
Every waking moment is spent responding to and waiting for the elephant s next outburst.
The other children reacted with chronic claustrophobia. The elephant had squeezed them into the corners of their own home. Everyone held their breath for fear there wouldn t be enough air in the room the next time we needed it. A year later, with the delinquent behavior continuing, Paul was committed to the St. Charles Prison for Juveniles. The elephant was gone.