Jailbird got sentenced...finally!

Jailbird got sentenced on Friday. He was sentenced to five years in prison. Because of some time served credit and some weird prison time calculation, he should be out of jail in about January 2009. I was the only one at his hearing and his attorney asked me to speak on his behalf. I thought his attorney did a good job and the judge even said that she was persuasive, but in the end, none of it mattered.

I had to call his mom and tell her. That was not a fun conversation.

I know that I have nothing to complain about because I won't be spending the next few years in jail, but I'm a little overwhelmed. Aside from all the "stuff" I have to take care of...like selling his car, figuring out what to do with all of his stuff, etc., I feel a huge burden. He's going to some prison, probably not very close to here. His family all lives out of state and his friends I fear will dwindle. They had such a hard time going to see him in jail when it was fairly easy to get through the process. I really feel like I will be the only one who will stick with him. That's a lot of pressure that if I don't write or visit, no one will. It's so sad. Add the guilt that I feel for even being selfish and feeling that way and I just feel crappy. I feel selfish and uncharitable.

I'm sure once I process all this and things settle down, everything will be okay. Why do people have to make such stupid choices?