Mothering Many

What’s your worst nightmare as a parent? For me, it’s the idea of one of my children being in a place that I can’t reach them, in a situation I can’t fix, in so much trouble that I can’t kiss them and make it all better. That’s what we do, as mothers, right? We FIX IT. We MAKE IT BETTER.

Sometimes, though, they just go further than we can walk with them. Sometimes, they make choices that we can’t countenance, can’t change and yet still refuse to ignore. Sometimes, our kids need an intervention from professionals. I’ve been really blessed with my kids so far, and only one of them has experimented with any type of illicit substance. That experiment lasted about a week, and the intervention I chose was the largest officer on our little PD, who happened to know the name of the guy she was hanging out with, and knew she wasn’t one of his normal hanging partners. He brought her home, and that was pretty much the end of that.

I know other parents that have not been so lucky. Their kids have needed serious drug detoxification, and that has caused immense pain for them. I can’t imagine such a thing. Not the drug abuse, because anybody can make a bad decision that just keeps snowballing, but the knowledge that I could no longer do anything but standby OUTSIDE and pray it all turned out all right. It truly is that nightmare I mentioned above, and it effects everyone who loves that person needing drug rehab.

The scary thing is that in my area, there aren’t many options for rehab. When you need that kind of help, you have to leave home to get it. You may not have to go as far as Chapman House in California, but away from home is still away from home. Away from what you know. Away from your dealer, but also your support system. I know it’s worth it in the end, especially if you can find a place that is CARF accredited, like Chapman, but still, I can’t imagine feeling so alone. I can’t imagine one of my kids feeling that way. Nightmare, like I said.