Love’s Prism

My grown son ran outside to my car in the
pouring rain, hauling in the bags of groceries I’d just bought. Before I could
ask, he polished the silver for the holidays and then vacuumed the carpet. For
nearly two weeks, we laughed and talked and once I even got to hug him. He
talked about all the things he wanted to do. Then, late on the twelfth day of
Christmas, he melted away into the night.

He’d been summoned by his drug of choice: methamphetamine.

I truly believe he tried hard to ignore
that call, but it was a siren song too strong for his fragile sobriety. Immediately,
my heart fractured into a million little pieces, a prism of free-floating gloom,
colored with grief. My precious boy was gone again.

When he’s sober, my thirtysomething son is the sweetest, most helpful person I know. He not only asks me how he can help—he anticipates my needs. But his “normal” self only appears after he tweaks, exploding in fury at the slightest provocation. Next, he sleeps it off for a couple of days, like a caterpillar in a chrysalis. Finally, my real son emerges.

But life isn’t totally normal. Whenever he
recovers from a binge, he talks and talks and talks. And eats and eats and
eats.

Since he also struggles with mental health
issues, I feel obligated to nod politely as he prattles on and I bite my tongue
as he messes up the kitchen. The eggshells I walk on are sometimes literally
strewn all over the place.

Why do I tolerate this? Do I think that if
I push back, he’ll break?

Yep. He’ll break. I’ll break. We’ll all break.

We’re the definition of broken. During the
binge, he’s trampled on my heart and yelled a bunch of ear-sizzling curse
words. His features take on sharp edges I don’t recognize. My need for
comeuppance pushes against my sternum, clamoring to be heard. But you can’t
reason with someone on drugs. I save the pain for later.

But when later arrives and his cheeks grow
plump again, my feet get cold and my voice disappears. Fear squeezes me. Insist
that he clean up or say, “Be quiet for two seconds so I can hear myself think,”
and he’ll run right out to do more dope.

Or he’ll stop loving me.

I once asked a counselor why my son always
seemed to direct his rage and epithets toward me. The counselor replied, “Because
he knows you can’t stop loving him.” It’s true—I can’t stop loving him. But I’m
always terrified that he’ll find a way to stop loving me.

A day and a half after he disappeared, he’s back home. He avoids me, skulking around or holing up in his room. I avoid him back, mixing hurt and sorrow with wet-hen anger. I remind myself that you can’t reason with intoxicated people. No, I’ll wait until he’s tweaked and slept and starts blabbing a blue streak. I’ll face him after he’s morphed back into the son who is thirty-eight on the outside but as emotionally mature as a sixth grader.

There must be a way to preserve his
dignity and still get the kitchen clean. Although choice words sometimes park
themselves on the tip of my tongue, I can’t sink to that level. I won’t admit how
embarrassed I feel at times, knowing the neighbors must hear his shouted profanities.
I won’t say my dignity hangs by a thread and my sanity dangles from its end.

Silently, I practice those “I” statements
that are supposed to be better than screaming, “You idiot!” I vow to stick by
my boundaries and resolve to change my wimpy, shrinking violet ways. I stare at
my reflection and repeat, “I am not a doormat.” This time things will be
different. This time, I will not stand for messes and endless chatter. I will
tell him the rules have changed. This time, I swear, I’ll say he must seek
treatment or else.

And I will too, as soon as I get past that one niggling fear. No matter how smart or how logical I am, the specter of being unloved looms like a bitter winter storm. It makes no sense, and I’m ashamed to admit it. But it is as real as rain clouds. If my son stopped loving me, I might not survive.

On the thirteenth day of Christmas, I’m
looking for light in the darkness of yet another meth binge. Like moms of
substance-dependent kids everywhere, I walk a thin line between love and
loathing. At times loathing wins but mostly there’s a little bit more love than
not. That sliver of love generates new hope in the face of terrible odds and forgives
broken eggs. And I tell myself I love him so much that he could never stop
loving his mom.

There seems to be no way out, but I won’t
give up. Light hides all the colors of the rainbow, love’s prism. Sometimes you
have to squint to see it, but it’s there.

About Linda S. Clare

I'm an author, speaker, writing coach and mentor. I teach both fiction and nonfiction writing at Lane Community College and in the doctoral program as expert writing advisor for George Fox University. I love helping writers improve their craft and I'm both an avid reader and writer of stories about those with wounded hearts.

8 comments on “Love’s Prism

  1. My son leaves prison on February 19th. I am excited to see my son finally find freedom after 8 years, but I would be a fool to think that all will be rosy. Lee is 5 weeks clean. He is eating well and in his right mind. But I know the day will come when the craving will strike. So I pray for protection around my son- I pray that the curse will finally break. I believe it and I am declaring his healing in Jesus’ Name. And I am declaring healing for yours as well.

    Never give up moma, we are all in this together.

    Eve

  2. LINDA: Two of my cousins drank themselves to death, literally. Another cousin died in celebration of being clean and sober for 6 months, and getting a great job as a result of her recovery – wrapped around the commode. Yet another died when his liver burst, from drug abuse. And in the family there is my father, his father, my uncles (5 of them) who succumbed to alcoholism and drug addiction which took their lives. There are in this mortality some things stronger than a mother’s love. I know your family and my heart goes out to you personally. I have nothing to say for advice that you would be willing to or want to listen to. I hope it is enough that I have the greatest admiration and respect for you. If there is anything I can do, you have but to ask. dl

    • Don, You’ve known me long enough to know me. Although this isn’t a great family narrative, it’s one so many share–sorry your family is in the club too. I’m not a gloomy person and I will never give up. Trying to work out my issues. Thank you for your comment and I hope all is well for you.
      Keep Hoping, Keep Writing,
      Linda

  3. The disease of addiction is such an insidious force. I’ve been clean almost five years and owe it all to NA. I was not willing to change until the pain of remaining the same was greater than the pain of having to change. Your words were beautifully written for such a desperate situation. I may have some suggestions for you. Feel free to reach out. Brian Wallace. 530 448 6182

    • Brian,
      First, congratulations on your ongoing recovery. Watching my sons, I know it is not easy to stop. Thank you so much for your willingness to help. I’ll keep it in mind.
      I keep hoping,
      Linda

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *