From the moment my child was born, I knew that I was given one of the best possible blessings. As a new father, I took the time to learn as much as I could about parenting and caring for my newborn baby. It was amazing to me that I created this beautiful person, and I was excited to help my child be the best person he could be. I knew that he would have to overcome obstacles as he grew older, and I was prepared to guide him in the right direction.
I remember how I helped him to ride his bike. For some reason, he just couldn’t get the hang of it like the other kids, so it took him many weeks of falling down and persevering before he had it mastered.
His first actual fight was another story, but I’m proud of the way that he handled himself. It didn’t matter to me that he totally creamed the kid because I knew he had to be disciplined. He was in bed before his bedtime every single night for two weeks, and he accepted his punishment without an argument. It took a few days until I learned that he tried not to fight, but he fought to protect his younger sister. It was then that I realized he was going to be okay, and I was going to do a pretty good job turning my little boy into a man.
He was so excited the day when I finally let him drive to the store by himself. I just couldn’t believe that when he got home, the car had some damage to it. I took the time to discuss it with him. He had a little fender bender, but he called the police and did everything correctly. I was just glad he was safe. I knew that that he was a responsible kid who tried to do the right thing all the time. Maybe it was because he continually has trials and tribulations with friends, school, sports, and the neighborhood bully (he was the kid on the receiving end of my kid’s first fight).
Sadly enough, as much as my wife and I have tried to keep our son away from negative influences, we couldn’t stop it all. Eventually he gave into peer pressure and began experimenting with smoking. We smelled it on him and confronted him. We discuss our feelings on the topic, and he promised he wouldn’t smoke again.
That’s when I realized that I needed to do more to help him.
I sought out some professional advice the next day. It was too late though. Our neighbor and his teacher, found him asleep and drunk at the side of our house. I guess he didn’t want to reveal his condition and tried to hide it.
Weeks passed and we strictly enforced every rule we could. We knew where he was at all times. Little did we know that he started sneaking through his window and getting high. This was happening right before our eyes and in my house. When I found out, I screamed and yelled at him. I was completely beside myself and had no idea how to help. It was then that I took him to a rehab center.
He was the first in our family to ever succumb to any type of drug addiction. I promised him as a baby that I would never leave his side, and this is the best thing I could do for him. I wanted to stop it before it became worse, and I think I did.
I knew he needed help when he finally didn’t have the guts to show his face and admit his mistake. Then, it just started snowballing, and I thought I lost control. I did enough research to know that he needed intense chemical treatment, and it was the best decision I ever made for my son.
