Progress
Hello all,
I haven't been posting much lately, but I thought I'd give a quick update on how we're doing.
For anyone who doesn't know, my husband revealed to me in April of this year that he had been snorting heroin for 8 months. It seems like it's been so much longer than 7 months, like a lifetime, but I'm happy to say that things are going very well at the moment.
We've had some relapses, many struggles, but M now has 2-1/2 months clean. He has been working hard on himself, dealing with issues from his past, and basically reassessing the way he deals with life. There have been many many bumps along the road, but he has grown as a person, a husband, and a father, and, for now, we are content and serene.
I know that there are many, many instances when a loved one's addiction has such a strong hold on them that the only sane choice to make is to remove yourself from the relationship, but I wanted to post this so that people could see that addiction does not always have to end in the destruction of a family. Each person has to seek within themselves and decide what is right for them, in their own personal situation. In ours, I knew in my heart that M really wanted to fight his addiction, so I decided that for me, the right decision was to stay. Supporting and helping a loved one in their struggle to recover is very different from enabling their use.
As odd as this may sound, this whole experience has actually been very good for me in a lot of ways. I look at people and their lives very differently, more openly now, and I have learned to appreciate each day of simple happiness in the moment it is happening.
I want to express my heartfelt thanks to so many of you who have helped me on this journey. I really don't know what I would have done if I had not had this safe place to come and share my feelings and experience. It has been the most difficult time of my life, and I can't express what it means to have had someplace to turn to for understanding.
I know that there may be more struggles in the future. But for today, this moment, our family is healthy, happy, and whole, and I treasure it.
Love and hope to you all,
Daisy