Day 23: Friends in need

I spent part of my morning with some old friends, and some new ones, at a meeting for people whose lives are affected by a loved one with an addiction. I hadn't been in a few years; life was feeling balanced enough and my loved ones who have struggled with addiction seemed OK enough for me to stop going.

And then ... one day I needed to be reminded that we can change ourselves, but not those we hold dear.

We're not in the driver's seat of other people's lives, but once you've been a parent it can be easy to forget that. We so want to make things right for our children, to knock all the barriers out of the way, forgetting that it's learning to contend with those barriers that helps us grow and develop into capable individuals.

I have so much to learn. I hope I don't run out of time.