Carry Yourself Darling
No, no one said that to me. What they really said was: “What exactly is your deal? You look like you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders….. I mean it can’t be THAT bad…… Just tell whoever’s bothering you to go away….. Have you gained weight?You look….different….. Your hair….. it’s so thin….”…
Bamboozled
You WANT so desperately to believe them… You NEED to believe them…. Your SANITY and PEACE depend on believing them…Not to mention your ability to get a good night’s sleep….Just for tonight… Until you are lying there and the realization Hits you…. You’ve been bamboozled again…You’ve become addictions 550 million- possibly- billionth second-hand victim of…
“When Will She Finally Get It?”
Guest posting with Sean Dustin In addition to being the mom of a person with substance use disorder, I happen to be a nurse who works in recovery of a different nature. I work most often with girls in residential treatment of eating disorders. One day, a worried Mom called and asked, “My daughter has…
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Breathe- Just Breathe
“Breathe, just breathe”. That’s what I constantly hear myself saying these days. In this political climate of the world today, it’s SO easy to find yourself in a sudden moment of anger, shock, and surprise at any and every new development. It’s hard not to react and retort with a knee- jerk response. It’s hard to remember that you are no doubt going to waste your energy AND Not likely to change ANY minds. Those of us in the business of momma hood find ourself in this predictament quite often. “Pick your battles”Is our war cry. Those of us with…
Trails of Smiles-ɢuɪᴅɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴊᴏuʀɴᴇʏ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ Iɴɴᴏᴄᴇɴᴛs
As I watched the little boy in his navy blue fleece jacket; with his warm knit hoodie covering his wavy brown hair, happily bouncing along the sandy path, I couldn’t help but smile with grateful relief. Every three steps, without fail, he would stop, bend down and draw a circle in the sand. “Look Nana! a circle!” This was my grandson, 3 years old, diagnosed with mild autism a little over a year ago. I had limited contact with him, partly due to distance, but mostly because of…
The Night after Christmas
нow was your Cнrιѕтмαѕ? The words echoed into my ears even before they left my co-workers mouth. I instinctively have enough experience with avoidance and deflection to get a jump on her question. By appearing busy and having enough ‘questions’ and data of my own; I was able to layer my question on top of hers seemingly without a noticeable pause. I understand that I could just answer like everyone else does, with the obligatory, “Fine, thanks how was yours?” However, being the Infp personality type that I…
A Simple Driveway
ᎳhᎽ ᏆhᎥs ᏢᎥᏟᏆuᏒᎬ mᎪᎠᎬ ᏆhᎥs mᎪmᎪ ᏟᏒᎽ It looks like just a house. Some cement. A fenceA few treesBut it’s more than that to me. To me, this house represents success. It’s represents hope. It represents forward motion. It gives hope to a sense of normalcy again. It screams “Please validate me even while I’m in this darkness!” Specifically, I’m talking about the driveway made of brand new cement. This represents the seemingly long lost talent and grit of my entrepreneur son who did a downhill slide into…
Empty Chairs
This time of year is bound to drudge up painful feelings for those who have lost a child or have a prodigal son or daughter who is lost in addiction or otherwise estranged. The happy music, with families dancing around the warmly decorated fireplace, is almost too much for moms like me who are worried sick about their child or children. We go through the motions of forced shopping, baking, decorating, even if it’s the bare minimum. We think no one will notice, as long we do our…
Constraining Beliefs
ł₣ Ø₦ⱠɎ After a week or 2 of disappointing events, and a sucky work week, I was destined to a restless and worrisome night – replaying a conversation with a coworker over and over. This morning when I jumped in my car for an eye appointment, This Talk by Wendy Watson was playing on the radio. I heard the words “Constraining Beliefs”. In my despairing state of mind, I resorted back to my default thinking that has probably held me back my entire life.If I had an argument…
Anticipatory Grief
ƛ͙ Ɗ͙ƛ͙Ƴ͙ Ɩ͙Ɲ͙ Ƭ͙Ӈ͙Є͙ Լ͙Ɩ͙Ƒ͙Є͙ A person with a substance use disorder. Is the correct title. But today. It doesn’t matter. My son is lost in the chaotic world of addiction. He’s in pure survival mode. And so am I. The middle of the night awakenings are wearing on me…. Checking my phone for “the call”. Apparently its called “anticipatory grief” I don’t care what its called. I hate it. I sink back into bed glad for one more day of hope. Hope that a miracle will happen.…
Rice on White
As much as I dislike the title, it is what it is. Time to make the best of my ‘new’ title and find the hidden rainbow- right? I was at work yesterday and had just ran to the cafeteria to grab lunch. I had the privilege of being able to eat alone in my office at this job. However, in my haste to get through lunch while doing some work on the computer, my plate had tipped, sending white rice all over the floor. I fervently scanned the…
Hi Santa
Hi Santa Hi Santa, Nice to see you again. Have you been quarantined? Oh you are always quarantined? For 11 months? Well I’m glad you decided to show up this crazy year. Have I been a good girl? Well, that’s debatable. What do I want for Christmas you say? I thought you’d never ask. I want to wake up with anticipation in my loins. I want to be excited about something again. I don’t want to dread turning on the news. Or getting on social media. All those…
Why I turned into a Rock Hound at 52.
For a trip down memory lane into small town America with my Poppa Check it out this new post I wrote on medium. https://link.medium.com/PKoRfOz4Lbb
A Deep Dive
Before I discovered Addiction so intimately within my own family, I would have written off this Video as just another religious kook. But when you are dropped to your knees with such utter powerless & deep despair, you find yourself seeking out a God, any God- real fast. The sheer pain & fear along with the loss of someone you love dearly Even though that person is still alive, is humbling to say the least. After basically going through the 5 stages of grief with the loss of…
Leaning In
Check out my latest post from a blast from my past. LEANING IN! Here’s an excerpt: We’ve often heard the term LEANING IN as way to listen to hear and not to respond.In Andy Goldsworthy’s film “Leaning In”, he sees it as one of two ways- You can either walk on the path or go through the hedge.Trailer to leaning inI’ve always seemed to pick going through the hedge and the “most difficult” path, but it certainly has been the most adventurous. On a family camping trip many…