Monday, December 6, 2010

Whew!

Fourteen hours in a car in one day is not fun, but I survived and am now very glad I went on this particular road trip. Usually, I love going to Corpus Christi--the USS Lexington Museum is there and I admit to a little love affair with the ship and the main period of history it represents (WWII). This time, no Lexington. Instead, I visited a drug rehab center.

I admit I didn't want to go. I didn't want to waste my day on a place I didn't want to spend my hard-earned money for something I didn't believe would help my child. Not that the rehab center couldn't do it's job, but I felt/feel as if my daughter does not want to be helped at the moment and I don't want to spend the money if she's not going to put her all into the program and into getting better. I just can't afford for that money to be wasted because she thinks rehab is the lesser of two evils.

But the facility was very nice--they recently moved into a former small hotel and have/are refurbishing it. It's been in business for over 40 years and many of the staff and volunteers are former clients who are paying it forward. While waiting for the gal who was supposed to give us the tour, we actually spoke with one of the workers who had been a client about three years ago. She said she'd lost everything--her family, her job, a place to live. Sounds like my daughter, except she didn't lose her family, she pushed us away. She said for her it took 45 days at the center. And she told us that most people don't want to be there at first and they are either very scared or very angry about it, but after they get a few days into it, they settle down. Anyway, long story short, much of what she said really made a difference to me in feeling that even if DD goes in not wanting to get clean, that there's a good chance she'll get an attitude adjustment and find that it's really not such a bad place and can--if she makes a concerted effort--get better and find a clean, productive life on the other side.

What I don't think she's really accepted yet is that this is probably her last chance. If she messes it up, there's nothing else we can do. She will have made her bed and then she will have to lie in it.

2 comments:

Regina Richards said...

Your daughter is lucky to have a family willing to provide her with this opportunity. I will pray for her success.

Jen FitzGerald said...

Thanks so much Regina. I really appreciate that.