Dedicated to all parents of Addicts

I've thought of doing this for a long time. In part, because we have all gone to the meetings, heard the stories, lived through the nightmares and read the books. But, I've yet to find a blog that is a clearing house for all of us to come together and share our daily thoughts, grief, struggle, bewilderment, hope, hopelessness, etc., etc., etc.....

My thought is that if there is a place where others can somehow benefit by reading about someone else who is sharing their same experiences, then there may be healing in sharing, for the parents or maybe for one of our children who deal with their daily struggle.

My beautiful daugher, I'll call her Alli, has struggled with addiction now for the last 4 years. She's now 20, has been drug Rehab twice, and a short court ordered stay, which she did not complete. She, like many of our children, has a magnetic personality, charm, and beauty. I call her the Pied Piper sometimes, because she can walk down the street and end up with 20 people behind her, all of whom she has enchanted with her presence.

At this time, she has come back home to stay with me, temporarily, in Florida. Once again, she has arrived at that place where she has tried, made gains, started moving forward in the right direction, got too comfortable, started using (again), and then the world came crashing down around her. She lost all she had gained, and now this time, she almost lost her life in a near fatal car crash. For those of us who share this position, I am sure that this scenario sounds familiar in many way. For any parents who are not familiar with addiction, this would probably sound like the end of the world.

Now Alli was doing OK for the past 5 weeks, not really moving forward, mostly recuperating, and struggling with not doing crack-cocaine. However, this last week, the tides have begun to shift again. The behavior has gotten shady, she's a hit and run, in & out, with every explanation she can think of for where she could possibly be at the craziest hours of the night. And, of course, NONE of her new friends do drugs (lol)!

There is so much more to be said, but I am too weary to continue today. I will continue, however, my story is ongoing, and I now have begun to accept that. Tomorrow's another day, and I will be happy that Alli is here and alive.

Til next time,

Mamadukes