My adult son was home for the holidays. He had been released from a mental health hospital after a 2 week stay a few months back. He was laughing at the menus, the numbers being placed there for him. Also, the security cameras as we walked into the restaurant, waving and laughing as he passed. That evening, he took Christmas ornaments off the tree and placed them in the planter dirt on the front porch. He hung the “Joy” sign next to the front door upside down. He broke apart a pizza cutter/server, and placed it on the living room floor. Next was a hanging 36″ x 24″ framed picture that he placed on my tiny desktop printer in my office.

What did all of this mean? His brothers left the house that evening and suggested we do the same; this behavior showed that delusions had set in again. My husband and I, clearly in denial, continued life as normal. Taking the television and wifi out of the bedroom, my son settled for the night. We locked our bedroom door. Not sure why, but we did.

My son left for the day, and I went into the bedroom where he had slept. Being the “guest room,” it was the place we put items that didn’t fit elsewhere in the house, and it was where we kept our large gun safe. A light was showing that was unusual. He had tried so many times to get into the safe that the battery had died. What if he had gotten in? I called help line after help line. No one could help. I called the police and explained the whole situation. It was obvious that he was spiraling. Per police “he hasn’t done anything illegal”. Yeah, yet. We left and stayed in a hotel until he left town to go back to his home.