Could this be a turning point?

When you're the parent of a recovering addict and have been struggling for as long as my wife and I have, it's real easy to get excited and feel hopeful about little things that reflect a possible positive change in your loved one's life. Not only is it easy; it's pretty much necessary. Because not only is life with an addict "one day at a time," sometimes it's "one baby step at a time."

One of those baby steps took place today, which was my son's first day of class at a local community college. (Actually, it was his first day of class for this semester. He was enrolled last semester, but had to withdraw after less than a week of classes in order to go into rehab. So we're looking at today as a fresh new start.) Granted, he only had one class today. But it was a class that started at 9:00am. I'll admit, after weeks of him staying up 'til 3:00 or 3:30 in the morning, and then sleeping until 3:30 or 4:00 in the afternoon, I wasn't real confident that he'd get up early this morning and make it to a 9:00am class on time. In fact, if I were a betting man I probably would've bet against it. Well, lo and behold! My son got up early, was ready on time, and got to class on time. Needless to say, I was a bit surprised, but I'll take a pleasant surprise over the other kind of surprise any day.

Some of you may be reading this and thinking that I'm crazy. This event may sound so incredibly rudimentary and basic to you that you're wondering how I could possibly get excited about it. Trust me: This is a huge step for my kid and for us. Maybe, just maybe, this is a turning point for him. Maybe getting "out there" and having a routine and socializing with new people will be a springboard to a better way of life for him. I am hoping and praying with all my might.