Teaching

Monty worries about what he's teaching his kids, particularly the eldest who has a little more understanding of things because of his age.

He was surprised that the sentencing hearing is so late. He was expecting it to be maybe late August or early September, not late September. He's faced with a problem, a problem born from fear. If he keeps the hearing date that he has, it is likely that the prosecutor would be someone who is known to everyone who has had to deal with her as fire and brimstone. It is very likely that this individual would push fiercely for the maximum sentence. The final decision is on the judge, of course, but the opinions of the prosecutors do weigh in. If he can get his hearing moved up, he will get another prosecutor, one who may be more sympathetic and therefore press for a shorter sentence. Monty worries about what trying to get a shorter sentence teaches his kids.

It's hard to say, really. He is facing the music; I think it's natural to want to minimize the impact. On one hand, it looks like his plea bargain is delaying the inevitable. Along the same lines, it looks like trying to get as few years behind bars as possible is trying to get out of paying the full penalty for his crime. On the other hand, he is teaching his kids to face the consequences of their actions, and showing them there are many things to consider because many things, many people, are affected by his actions.

He said that everyone he has talked to about trying to move up the sentencing has agreed with that idea. He half-joked that it was because everyone wanted to be rid of him sooner. I told him it was because there was a chance for a lesser sentence, therefore the sooner he goes in, the sooner he comes back to us. He countered by saying he won't be around for my birthday if he gets an earlier hearing. We very likely wouldn't be able to get together for my birthday anyway, and he's forgotten to call on my birthdays before (though I didn't mention that) so it's no big deal to me if I don't hear from him that day. That sounds like a cold thing to say now that I've typed it out. But, really, for someone who appears to love me like he does, like he's implied but never said in so many words, to forget my birthday does leave me a little bitter. I also wasn't expecting him to be around for it this year anyway.

If he gets a new hearing date, maybe it will look like he doesn't want to put off his punishment any longer. If he's worried about what his kids will learn from that, it can only be that he's ready to do what must be done. That's not a bad thing to teach.