Monsters ARE real.

After years of emotional strain and restless nights from caring so much about a brother who is an alcoholic and drug addict I have finally found a way to put a "child-friendly" (and I use the word "friendly" very loosely) name to the issues that are happening in our family and that my kids have to know about. I can only hope that I explain this realism in a way that will ultimately deter them from ever fighting the Real Monsters in life. I cross my fingers that my own daughter never has to face sleepless nights because her brother is consumed and in great measure, hope the same for my son.


Dear Children, 

            I have recently realized that I have been lying to you since you were very young and I'm sorry but you must now know the truth. Monsters ARE real. They look nothing like the green fuzzy beast that you think hides under your bed waiting for me to leave the room so he can tickle your exposed toes or the slimy one perched under the stairs waiting to grab your ankles as you ascend from the basement. The real monsters hide inside of real people. Initially the person himself is not the monster, rather the monster is the end result of a culmination of bad decisions and disease. The real monsters are drugs, alcohol and other addictive fixations. An otherwise normal person who is plagued with the disease of addiction will lose the conflict with the evil that tempts him if he even entertains the idea. When he loses, the monster surfaces and the "normal person" you once knew becomes an entirely different entity. These monsters reek havoc on the lives of everyone involved and are extremely powerful. These monsters that I speak of are far worse than any you've ever dreamed of. You can wake from a dream, even a nightmare but you can not wake from life. I beg of you to never tease the evils, there is only one way to find out if you can beat the monster or become it and that is the hard way. Please be safe in life and decision making.


                                                                                                           With MUCH love, 
                                                                                                                   ~Mom


I can only blame the monsters, not the delicate soul. Life can be a series of unfortunate events that not even Lemony Snicket could conjure up but we must realize that our spirits are capable of overcoming even the most incredibly poor circumstances.

As my brother's sister I want to be his shield. I would go into battle head first and clear his path so that he didn't have to fight the fight but in my heart I know that he is strong enough to win and nothing is impossible! I understand the agonizing debacle my brother and so many others face. This struggle has to be fought from the outside in. Be stronger than the urge. Get mad at temptation, fight it until your fingers bleed. Have zero tolerance for less than you deserve. You have to love yourself enough to fight for you. Stand up, chin up, chest out with rage in your eyes and feel empowered.

As far as we know there is no cure for Alcoholism or the addiction to drugs, there are only tools of coping for the vessel in which the disease thrives. Though I am beginning to believe that there is a cure, one that starts before the disease breathes it's first breath. Prevention. In a way that we don't stop at Say No To Drugs. We don't stop at teaching our children to be good, we teach them to be better. Teach them that they are in control of themselves. Teach our children that they are far stronger than the temptations in life. Teach them EMPOWERMENT. Teach Our Children Well.