And that's the way it is ~

May always brings good times...Mother's Day (awesome, I felt very loved), birthdays (my oldest, Justin), and crawfish time. AND the American Idol finale! Yay for Phillip winning the whole thing. It was a trip having Josh Ledet, a local guy, in the running. He came in 3rd.

This month started with a bang. Literally.

In an attempt to answer the phone my Mac slipped off my lap, and the full weight (corner down) fell onto my toe and broke it. I moaned. I groaned. I cried. I took pictures of the damage and sent to Jennifer at the ER to impress her. Then I sent the same pic to the boys and my sister, for sympathy. The phone call that led to the disaster? A telemarketer.

So, my toe had to be wrapped and taped and I couldn't put on closed shoes for weeks so I called a time-out in my life and decided the best, most productive use of my time would be to attend the trial of "Thelma & Louise" (see previous post).

So I did. Every single day. It was an absolute blast.

I'd never attended a trial before, much less one of this magnitude. This murder had everything - sex, gambling, cheating, intrigue, greed, a dysfunctional and contentious family, and as many characters and storylines as a John Grisham novel.

I became friendly with the news media (local TV and the newspaper) as well as the national media (the producers from CBS News sat by me often), law enforcement detectives, the sheriff (he gave me his seat during closing arguments) the prosecutor, the FBI expert, the mistress, the family of the victim. Just to name a few. The last day of trial, I got there at 8:30 am and didn't leave the courthouse until after the verdict was announced 11 hours later.

YES...this story will be featured on "48 Hours" on CBS, look for it to air this fall!

I will forever be sorry I wasn't on this jury but I have to say, if I had been, I'd have voted the same...GUILTY. A friend and I watched as the two women convicted of the crime were driven away to jail. I felt good about that.

What an experience! I learned a lot about the judicial system. And I gained a new appreciation for the work of the prosecutor's office, as well as the men and women who gave 3 weeks of their time to sit on this jury. Long hours.

Finally, I'm just enormously grateful to law enforcement for all they do and mighty proud to be the mother of a police officer (Jason, son #2).

May, 2012. And that's the way it is...