Six Flags and Little Keepers and JM

Today, for the first time in little Keepers lives they got to go to Six Flags and be themselves! Big Keepers took a back seat to littles, except when we stopped for a smoke every once in a while or when a call came in on the cell phone, besides that it was little keepers and JM all day long!!

This guy was at the entrance creating these huge bubbles for everyone to admire.

We had so much fun, riding rides, drinking lemonade, taking pictures, laughing, eating funnel cakes, practically walking right onto the rides the first several hours we were there because they just weren't busy yet. The very first roller coaster ride we had our only casualty of the day as keepers hat was taken off their head on the first turn, never to be seen again! As we went by any of the numerous stands there they checked out the hats for a replacement but Terrence found something better in his opinion, see below!

yep!!! Terrence got a Superman cape!!! He will have to share it with Super Terrence but now he has the cape!!

Every ride brought forth a different little laughing and gasping as we rode ride after ride, even some very little keepers came out to squeal in delight at this never before adventure that was theirs to savor, to remember for a lifetime!

I think the Log Flume was their favorite ride overall but if you asked them I think it would be whichever one they just got off of when you asked them. The only disappointment ride wise was the Moon cars were being renovated so the ride was gone. It will be there next year so we will enjoy it then!

View from top of Log Flume:

I would like to thank my employer for making this possible today as the entire finance group was offered this opportunity at Six flags, they paid for our parking, the park admission, a free picture and a free lunch (this was the only downer in this regard, the food was pretty blah, food last year was a lot better!) So we had to stop for our funnel cake earlier than we planned on doing it but it was so darned delish, funnel cake with warm cinnamon apple topping and we left exactly one bite! I asked one of the littles if she was having fun and she heard me but she didn't answer me and I began to laugh which brought out a big asking what was going on and I said I asked if Itty Bit was having fun but she just kept on eating the funnel cake as if to say, "Not now, silly! Can't you see we have a funnel cake to eat!"

Well to make a long story short, after seven hours there it was decided it was time to head home, a super duper time was had by all and it was time. So home we came and guess what...as I write they are on the couch dozing and perhaps dreaming about thier wonderful day at Six Flags, a day for littles.

Happy Trails to all

JM

This Sucks

Insert your own specific for "This" then see above

jm

No Longer Waiting

It is here, arrived a few days ago, and there it was in black and white, 16 pages of the State's decision regarding the charges filed against the former therapist of Keepers. I was not home when it got here so Keepers read it and parts of it to me over the phone. It's effects have already been felt here in our home. What is has done in his we do not know nor do I really care. All I know is that on all charges the State of Missouri found him guilty! The State Board of Psychologists will levy the discipline within 30 days, supposedly, but we all know there is red tape and such but we know he is guilty according to his peers, the Attorney General's office, the expert witness and soon it will be on the State's site listing those who have been disciplined and charged with infractions of the licensing committee's standards.

Sadly it had adverse effects on Keepers almost right away. Reading excerpts from evidence brought forth renewed a lot of old feelings, of him telling them their perceptions were all wrong, that they could not exist in the real world, that only he understood them and cared about them, that I was a bad person only using them, that he was a multiple too so only he could "get it".

To say Keepers, especially the littles, were thrown for a loop would be a big understatement. Ever since the document arrived here they have struggled to regain their feelings of worth, of being good, of having value. That was how far reaching his influence over them was and is to some degree. But, they are recovering. Day by day they are getting a little stronger.

They are receiving supportive comments via their blog and email and phone from their fellow multiples who look at them say "you did good" and "you stood up for all of us and won" and "that took guts" and "thank you for being strong enough to go through with this", all valid points, all true comments, all indicative of Keepers friends and "family" who stand by them.

This was seven long years, years full of self doubt, of fear of him, and part of that fear was brought forth in his reply to the decision, he alluded that Keepers had done things that were not proper and that they were allowed certain privileges by the state in their testimony, which is quite interesting since he wasn't even there to hear their testimony since he chose not to appear because as he stated in a letter to the judge, "my attorneys advise that I cannot win this decision so it is fruitless for me to appear". He then "volunteered to retire his license" but the AG said, "no" we want to prosecute so we can take away his license. It seems if he voluntarily gives it up he could come back and request it be reinstated after some amount of time and the state would have no reason not to. This way that avenue is closed to him. Way to go AG!

In review, he "is subject to discipline because in his treatment of a patient, 1) he wrote a letter of a sexual nature to the patient 2)he reinforced the separateness of her multiple personalities 3) he failed to maintain appropriate boundaries between himself and Keepers 4) his primary focus in his therapy was abreactive work which was inappropriate and could have harmed the patient."

That is it in a nutshell, the 16 pages provide some of the backup for their findings. Some of that was what triggered littles especially. Since then I am trying to reinforce that there was nothing in the 16 pages that said keepers did this wrong or that wrong, everything was on what he did wrong. In addition to his not showing up for the hearing he did not sign his rebuttal. The State board made note of this saying that in their attempts to discern the truth they often have to weigh each persons testimony and decide who they feel is being truthful, his not showing up nor even signing his rebuttal made all of his comments irrelevant in his support and in fact he did corroborate much of what Keepers testified to so the evidence was overwhelmingly against him.

I am very proud of Keepers for not giving up on this procedure, I know it has hurt in many ways, it tore their hearts apart in many ways. They felt used, abandoned, neglected, tricked, you name it. But, they stood up, they went there, they testified and in so doing they won the respect of the judge, the expert witness the assistant Attorney General and many of their internet friends as well as Pastor Brown and myself. This was not easy for them to do. They were hit with more repercussions when that 16 page doc got here. When the discipline is announced that may well trigger more feelings and reactions. All I know is that I hope they are proud of themselves, they deserved to be heard, by authorities, and they were! Their littles now know that the older keepers do care and will do all they can to protect them. They know now that there are people who believe them, people who care about how they are treated and who really respect them.

Keepers and I hope that this man will never have the opportunity to harm a patient again, that others who have been through similar circumstances may well find the strength to report an abusive and harmful therapist if they have one. We also hope that once the annual list of license revocations is put out there and the posting is made of the findings that other T's may reconsider how they treat their patients and correct any bad behaviors they may have for their sakes and most importantly for the sake of their patients.

How often reporting a person in authority to a state licensing committee or board works I do not know, but we do know now that it can work, and that gives me reason for hope after all.

Congrats to Keepers for doing the right thing, for seeing it through, you did good!!!!

Happy trails from here on out!!!

JM

Waiting to See It in Black & White

As many of you regulars may well know, Keepers filed a complaint against their therapist of 17 years, about 7 years ago. We were notified by the lawyer from the AG office just a few days ago that the decision is final, he was found guilty on all five charges put forth in the complaint. We are waiting for the paper copies of the decision to get here so we can read it for ourselves!


This past January we travelled to our state capitol so keepers could testify in the often postponed hearing. That had happened 3 or 4 times. Unbeknownst to the former T everytime he got it postponed he was in fact doing himself in because keepers were getting stronger and more determined as time went by.

We met with the lawyer from the Attorney General's office a couple of times before the hearing and were told he may not show up for the hearing after all. Seems he had tried to get this one rescheduled also but this time Keepers told the AG lawyer that if it was cancelled again they would not testify, that 7 years of this was more than enough. They conveyed that to the judge and the judge agreed, no more postponements!

So, on the day of the hearing, the judge was there, the AG lawyers were there, the expert witness was there the state investigator was there and we were there. The lawyer for the AG and the expert witness, who keepers spoke with for about 20 minutes before the hearing, were very supportive of keepers, they did all they could to reassure her all would be just fine. If he did show up they would do all they could so he did not harass or frighten the littles on the stand.

The judge waited for 15 minutes past the scheduled start time, since the T had not shown up yet. When the judge began they read a letter from the T, stating he may not be there because "keepers were too fragile and he wanted to do what was best for keepers", yeah right, and then he added that "he had been advised by two lawyers he had employed that he stood no chance of winning! Maybe with appeals and more time he could get it overturned but they both said "you will not win". I think that means we had way too much evidence against him, which we gave to the AG, the investigator came up with some of his own and then the "expert" witness added his two cents worth that in his opinion the T had done nothing short of manipulation, deception and impeded the recovery of keepers. for 17 years for his own twised reasons.

Pretty strong stuff! He was found guilty on 5 separate charges, to be honest I do not remember the wording of the charges. The AG recommended the most stringent penalties be set forth. That comes from the State Psychological Board in about 30 days. We can onl7y pray that they will see fit to honor the AG suggestions and recognize the harm this man caused in his 17 years and even thereafter. There are things keepers may never recover from. The brainwashing he did to them is not completely undone, some of the things he convinced them of are still not "undone". The effect he had on keepers relationships with me and our children and other therapists will never go away. Keepers and I have worked through many of ours. They would never see another T I am sure.

Whatever his punishment, or discipline as they want to call it, is, it will not be enough. I spoke with the T who helped Keepers file their complaint those 7 years back, I left her a message that he had been found guilty on all 5 charges. She called me today, happy to hear that but wondering what the discipline will be. In her opinion he belongs in jail. What he did to keepers emotionally, physically, mentally, and to their relationships with others was that serious, that destructive, the heinous.

There was many a time I wanted to take a baseball bat to this person but I was always afraid I would get caught and keepers would have no one at their side. Sort of the same way I felt about all of her abusers, take a baseball bat to them and whale the crap out of them. Maybe the state will use their bat on him.

He deserves it.


Happy trails to all of the rest of you

JM

The Return of Wendys

We have been without a Wendys for about a year and a half now. All of the ones in the greater metro area were owned by one person and they all went out of business at the same time, and in a hurry. This past weekend the one right down the road from us has reopened, and I kid you not, you cannot get close to the place!

We just drove by there, it was about 9:15 PM and there were cars in the drive thru completely encircling the restaurant. The inside was full. We are beginning to wonder if they are giving away free food or paying people to come back. Surely there weren't that many people who missed it to the point of waiting in line for God knows how long! Is there?

This weekend we drove by it 3 or 4 times, and every time it was jam packed! To be honest, keepers and I like Wendy's food, when it is hot and prepared correctly it is pretty good, especially for fast food and we would both take it over Mickey D's anytime or Burger King.
But, we won't spend 30 minutes waiting for a chance to order a burger and fries no matter how good it is.

So I wonder, why do people wait in an extremely crowded parking lot or drive thru for a burger and fries or a baked potato or a frosty? Am I missing something? Is this the part of America I am supposed to be a part of and just can't get it? When we used to go out with our children for a meal, which was most of the times we got together with our son and his family, they had no problem waiting 45 minutes or longer at a restaurant waiting for a table. I could never see it. I could understand it even less when the food was overpriced and usually not very tasty at all on top of waiting for what seemed like forever for less than average food.

If keepers and I go into a restaurant and they say we have a wait of over 15 minutes, we go somewhere else. We cannot see any reason to wait when it always exceeds the time they say it will be and if they are that busy the service is often poor and the food prepared sloppily or takes forever and is often messed up in some manner.

I will not tip poor service or poor food and I will tip for good service and food, I have had a daughter work the restaurant business as a waitress and a bartender and she lived on the tips, not the hourly wage, but that is a separate blog for the future. Anyway, at a restaurant we often visit we had terrible service one night, the food was cold, the appetizers and the main course because the waitress was not paying attention, not because she was busy. Luckily it was pizza for the main so we just took it home heated it up later but the onion rings which are normally stupendous there and the cheese garlic bread were both lukewarm at best and cooled off fast at the table. When we left I did not tip her at all. As we approached our car on the parking lot the owner followed us out of the restaurant and asked us, did we forget to tip our waitress or what?
This was the first time this had ever happened to me but I told him, the service was terrible which in turn caused the food to be cold very fast and that we could not even get her to refill our drinks, we got another waitress to do it. He knew we were regulars, not real often but enough that he remembered us. He apologized for her service, or lack of, and we told him, we have been coming here for years and this was the first time I ever did this, and how we loved their food and atmosphere. Ever since then, and this was a good 5 years ago, he always comes by our table and asks us how we are and how is the food and such. We always get good service and we imagine he tells whoever is waitressing us that if they want their tip, they had best deserve it.

So how in the hell did I get to tipping from Wendys, beats me!!! All I know is now I am hungry! Got some chicken wings thawing out for later, will throw them in the wing fryer made for hotwings and keepers and I will have a snack before we head for bed. Or I guess I could run down to Wendy's....nah.

Happy trails

JM

A Dream Come True

Well, to say that yesterday was an awesome day would be an understatement. Yesterday keepers and I fulfilled several dreams in one day on a special day. It was our anniversary so we did three things , we had our house and studio blessed by Pastor Brown, after that we held a small service in our office and renewed our wedding vows and our commitment to each other, after 37 years we finally renewed our vows and then we had an adoption ceremony, service, where Pastor blessed our adoption of the little keepers into the family of myself and big keepers. Now, all keepers feel as though they belong, none are just tagging along because an adult keeper married me, we are all family and as such we have a new bond, even stronger than before!

Here are some pictures for those who are interested:



here is the office at Keeperskorner, we used the desk for the flowers and unity candle.











here is a picture of keepers roses, i am sorry to say i have not keepers many in our marriage but i know these were very special to them.

















this is the vase for little keepers flowers, they wrote their names on it and now the artificial flowers will be a remembrance vase for them to always have. Oh yes I almost for the lolly bouquet!!











this is Beth, below getting ready to place her flowers and some of the littles she cares for, thier flowers in the vase



keepers and me after the ceremonies and before we headed to a fine Mexican restaurant with pastor Brown for a delicious supper












Pastor Brown and Keepers after the ceremonies










Little Keepers vase after everyone put their flowers in

I really feel that keepers and I are even stronger than before, closer than before, more dedicated to each other and keeperskorner than ever before. Pastor Brown was the first clerical person we found who understood and accepted keepers multiplicity and our desire to have big keepers and me adopt all of the little keepers and make all keepers a part of our family in the eyes of God. Little Keepers have a peace they have never known before, that alone makes it all worthwhile and very precious.

To all of the Keepers, thank you for allowing and wanting me in your lives and for giving me the chance to love you, ALL of you.

Always

JM