Jake's run in with the police!

Yep, you read that right....I had to pick Jake up from school yesterday after receiving a phone call from Officer Steiner. The officer was very quick to say that Jake hadn't done anything wrong, he seemed a little manic and was having a hard day with some of his friends. It was such a breath of fresh air to have somebody talk to me about my child without an ounce of disdain in their voice! He told me that when he was first called to the school, he had Jake hold his 2 way radio for him. Jake actually cocked his arm and was going to chuck it at him! The officer was very patient with Jake and told him that that was not actually a good idea and he got him calmed down. By the time I got to the school, Jake and "Mike" were fast friends. Mike told me over and over again that Jake is a great kid. It really was just what I needed. Recently, I've been hearing nothing but negative about my boys so it was really reassuring to see that I'm not making it up when I think my boys are great....somebody else sees it too! Apparently, Jake had an issue with his friends. They were chasing him and Jake was upset and trying to get away from them. After recess was over, Jake went to class (they had a sub) and he felt like they were all staring at him (he gets really paranoid, it's part of the whole bipolar thing) Well, he took off from class and there were about 5 adults outside all trying to keep track of where he was. At one point, he actually jumped the fence and was going to leave. That's why the officer was called in. Really, I am glad that the officer was called because Jake got some much needed assurance that it is ok to have upset feelings and if your friends are being mean to you, they're not really your friends. Officer Steiner even went so far as to offer Jake his old SWAT key (this kind of stuff is right up Jake's alley!) The only catch is, Jake has to prove that he can handle his anger in a more constructive way. Officer Steiner was even going to have lunch with Jake today! There was even some talk of getting real handcuffs! (I wouldn't be heartbroken if that didn't actually happen!) The bottom line is, this guy met Jake for the first time yesterday and he took the time to really see Jake! I was so impressed with him. He told Jake that he can feel free to have them call for him whenever he feels he needs him! What a guy! He's even going to talk to the boys old principal to see if there's anything he can do to get the boys back into their old school (they miss it soooo much!) I did have to take Jake early because as Officer Steiner said, "He's had a rough day and enough is enough for today!" Out in the car, I was questioning Jake about the incident that started it all and he told me, "The only two friends I have here were chasing me and wouldn't stop." I broke out in tears. It was just absolutely heartbreaking to hear that pain in his voice. I know he sometimes takes things wrong so it may all be a misunderstanding but his pain was real and it just tears me up inside. When I got uspet, he asked me why I was crying and I told him that it's just sad that he's such a great kid and he's got so many crummy things happening to him right now. I told him how bad I felt that he was made to leave his old school and his friends. He told me this........"Mom, if I never got sent here, I never would have made those two friends in the first place so it's ok" Sometimes I think he is wise beyond his years!