Cautiously Optimistic…….Two words I found myself saying many times over the 10+ years I watched my daughter struggle with her drug addiction. It was crushing to admit that my child is an addict. She did not set out to be a drug addict. No one does. In fact I would guess that when Career Day happens in school, “Drug Addict” is never mentioned as someone’s aspiration. Yet, everyone knows one, or knows someone who knows one. It is a desperate, lonely, and all-consuming lifestyle.

And what about us – the parents? We didn’t sign up for this drug addicted lifestyle? But when our child is an addict and struggles – no matter how old they are – we struggle too.

Friends would ask how my daughter was doing. If I had a good report to tell, they would get excited and try to encourage me with:

“Maybe this is it for her.”

“Maybe this is her last relapse.”

“Maybe she is done.”

“Maybe she has finally hit her rock bottom.”

They were encouraging words, but when you are the parent of a drug addicted child who has relapsed more than just a few times, I found myself answering, “I am cautiously optimistic that this is her last relapse.”

No matter how desperate your situation, I believe hope can be found. I believe that you can survive. I believe that you can do more than “just survive” when your child is an addict. I believe you can thrive!

I know this because I have survived & thrived even though my child was an addict. I am here to encourage you to do the same. It isn’t easy, but it is very possible.

Join me and other parents of drug addicted children who have had to come to grips with these horrible words: “my child is an addict.” Learn how we are surviving and thriving  – even when we have a drug addicted child.