We picked our youngest up from freshman year yesterday. I am dancing! and thankful…

So we’re about a half hour into a three hour drive and our son pronounces that we should be glad he doesn’t do drugs. To which we had the standard parental answer – YES we are thankful and YES we hope that his choice continues. To which he shares that it has been recently revealed that a friend from high school was using heroin. This is a smart kid. An honors kid. From a good family. With love and rules and all that. Wow…

Gulp… Well… About a month ago, a boy who (for alphabetical reasons) spent many elementary days behind our son was discovered following a fatal heroin overdose. Different schools, different friends… Even scarier.

So both of these boys had issues. Well obviously you say. Issues that they hid or went under the radar. These boys could have been my boys… But they weren’t. But I don’t want it to be anyone’s kids. We all go through times when life isn’t what we want it to be. So how do we give them the strength to resist, the strength to persist. Love. Prayers. Rules. Presence. I don’t really know. More Love. More Prayers.

Here’s the good news… Our son was shocked by this revelation and was trying to figure out, how, upon returning home from school, he and other friends can be supportive. Just. So. Proud.

Please love your kids and remember it’s not far away… Even as I wish it was…