Mic went through the usual trying to talk to ss yesterday. She had finally turned the phone off just a little before his bedtime ( I can only assume she got tired of hearing it ring). I told Mic that he should think about calling again about 8:15 (when ss should be in bed reading-lights out at 8:30- we don't like to interrupt then, be it wasn't like he hadn't tried earlier). So he calls again at 8:25, and of course, the phone was back on. SS finally picks up. When Mic asked about his day, etc. he said that he and his mom were out for a walk, after dark. Hmmm...

So then he told us that he had stayed home from school sick. He said that his stomach had hurt, and that he had pulled a muscle in his foot. He had been inside all day the day before, so I'm not sure how the foot thing fits in, but here's the deal: We've noticed that every time he doesn't lie to back up his mom, he misses the next day of school. If it's on a weekend, then Mic can't reach him until Monday or Tuesday.

Of course, if there is abuse going on, we can't prove it in court anyway, but there's a lot of psychological stuff that goes along with that which would need attention if that's the case.

What should we do? Should we try to talk to him, or should we just let him come to us about it? Keep in mind that he told us about 2 incidents a few months ago, just out of the blue, but it had been about a year since they occured. She's been lying so much lately, you can't blame the kid for not being able to keep up. If this is what happens when he can't cover for her, he's in a very dangerous situation. How do you approach a kid in this sort of situation? Are there any particular signs we should be looking for, aside from physical injuries?

Interesting side note: She made him ask yesterday if we would consider a week on, week off visitation for the summer. She had told him last year that he could stay with us every weekend for the summer, then punished him for lying (she wanted him to be grounded when he came over here). Mic said that it's fine with him, so long as he has it in writing. This would be a really good situation if there is abuse going on.