Downtown traffic.....

is not my thing! It has been years since I had to be in downtown Grand Rapids....up until this morning that is.

Doug (middle son) has not had a drivers license in years. Originally it was suspended due to a couple DUI tickets and then not issued for back child support. He has also been ticketed and arrested for driving on a suspended license. But unless he drives to work, or I take him and pick him up every day, he can't pay the court ordered child support.

He has decided in the last month that he can't go on living this way....he needs to make some changes in his life. Very good decisions on his part. There has been a bench warrant out for his arrest for back child support since April. So he took it upon himself to contact Friend of the Court for that county and spoke with a Bench Warrant Officer. And the BWO worked out a deal with him, telling him he could sense Doug's sincerity in wanting to take care of this matter and put all the nonsense behind him. So he went to bat for Doug, and told Doug he needed a certain amount of money from him in the next few weeks and he would take away the bench warrant AND reinstate his drivers license. Doug called Amber's mom and asked her to write a letter stating that he had paid her $XXX. in child support and he would make sure that the Friend of the Court received $XXX.

But, I am getting ahead of myself here. I had to drive to the next county to get to the courthouse where the Friend of the Court's office has always been located. I had to find a parking space and park at a meter and dump all my change in it and then walk 1 ½ blocks to the Courthouse. After going through the metal detector and sending my purse through the x-ray machine and asking them which floor I needed and having them tell me the 3rd floor, and going up to the third floor and not being able to find the Friend of the Courts office at all, I finally found someone to ask and they said the Friend of the Courts Office was 3 blocks down the street (in the opposite direction of where I had parked).

By this time, I know my meter is ticking off the minutes and I don't want to receive a parking ticket. So I head the 3 blocks down the street in a fast walk (almost a jog). I finally found the office where I could deliver that money today and spoke with the same BWO and brought the paperwork home with me stating that the bench warrant has been rescinded and a paper for Doug to sign and return to his office and he will turn it in and Doug should have a valid driver's license within 7 days after that. Then I practically ran the 4 ½ blocks back to my car just as the meter was going to click "EXPIRED". And the meter maid was on the opposite side of the street checking the meters and it would have only been minutes before she crossed to the side I was parked on. I high-tailed it out of the snarled traffic and got on the south bound freeway and headed home. I was back here by 10:30 AM.....MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!