New Year, Hoping For A New Start

The holidays have ended and although we couldn’t all be together there were lots of happy memories made. We now have seven grandchildren so I was going for organized chaos. 6 of them live nearby and the 7th about 1200 miles away. This year we were spending Christmas with my daughter’s family 1200 miles away.

Where is Rock Bottom?

It’s been 1 year and a half since I started writing this blog. So much has changed but so much has remained the same. My son has been in jail several times, He’s there right now and will miss the birth of his daughter this week. Instead of becoming more positive about his recovery I’m

Birthdays

Today my son turned 33. Age is just a number but also a barometer of how long he’s been struggling with addiction. 15 years, a very very long time. Within those years we’ve gone without knowing where he was, taking him to numerous rehabs, meeting with numerous counselors, setting up sober living houses, receiving phone

Please Don’t Judge Me

I feel as though I’m very lucky right now. It didn’t always feel this way. Those close to me just didn’t understand addiction, well really neither did I. But I was thrust into learning and learning quickly all I could about the subject. I read whatever I could find and learned so much. I felt

Overdose Awareness Day

Make a Difference on International Overdose Awareness Day Of the 61,311 preventable drug overdoses in the country in 2017, more than 43,000 involved opioids. International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event held Aug. 31 each year to remember those gone too soon from overdose deaths. What can you do? Hold a candlelight vigil Offer

Living on the Edge

And so we wait. A court date has been set in early November for a revocation hearing. That does not stop the county from putting out a warrant at any time before then. It’s really hard on me but I cannot imagine what it’s like for him. Every time you hear a siren the police

Medical Marijuana Study Yields Shocking Results

Today I read an interesting article about a study performed by Stanford University School of Medicine concerning the affects of states that have passed medical marijuana laws and how it has changed the amount of overdoses. Here is the article – Opioid Overdose Deaths Not Prevented By Medical Marijuana Laws, Research Suggests The Washington Post

Will he “Get it?”

My life has been a little hectic the past month, but we’ve made it through as well as made some great advances in communication with my son’s fiance. You see since he is sitting in County Prison for 60 days he is no longer able to control that situation. She has been relying on us

Heartbreak Doesn’t End

I wanted to order baby rings for my 2 older granddaughters. It was while I was looking that I came to the realization that mine are gone. I knew my engagement ring and wedding band were gone, but just realized that my 2 baby rings that I could have passed onto my grandchildren were in

You Should Write A Book

Over the years I have been told numerous times – You should write a book. Looking back and knowing what I now know, the things that were so foreign to me, my family and my friends, was “normal” when dealing with a loved ones addiction. I knew that there were meetings that I could have

I Hope This is Change That Stays

My son has had another first! A good first. He brought 2 of his children with him to just visit, not to say I’ll be back in an hour but to actually stay and visit. There has been a little mother nagging going on about this. You see I hear all the time how I

Life with an Adult Child in Recovery

Life with my son is like a roller coaster. There are so many slow climbs to the top and a few giant drops. I feel as though those descents, however bad they are at the time, actually teach me something and give me strength. Sometimes it also teaches my son something about life and people.

Recovery Takes a Team

The NFL playoffs have started. I don’t know who you’re rooting for. Some people stick with their hometown team, others pick according to their favorite colors and some because their parents are staunch fans. But we all have a favorite no matter how we got to that choice. I happen to cheer for 2 teams,

Words that Cut Deep

These past few days have been the perfect example of how it is to be the mother of an addict. My son has been clean and sober for 18 months but still has the personality traits that he had when he was in active addiction. He still has the temper, the “me first” attitude, the