Cleanup
I just realized one large aspect of living a life an addict family member is all about cleanup. I know that isn't very profound, but, as I considered the work my husband had to do this time to deal with my son's apartment due to his trashing it and being evicted, I realized that we both have become experts at cleanup. The first time he lost his apartment due to drinking, a blackout suicide attempt followed by a DUI, my husband and I cleaned it up ourselves, only 3 months after we moved him in. This time, he left his apartment in a state that required a professional hazmat cleaning service, once again 3 months after my husband helped him acquire it and his sister moved him in.
The logistics of getting dealing with this cleanup were so much easier, I think because we have become so much better at knowing how to deal with all this. It's easier to buy him some new clothes, for example, than digging through his old ones strewn everywhere. It's much easier to think of him living without a lot of items, like dishes, because he needs to be in a group home setting where he doesn't need these.
I am pleased that this time, there wasn't any angst or emotional anguish on our part, and, it made a difference that we didn't clean up the apartment ourselves. There's enough cleaning up to do after an addict family member without this added on to it.
This made me chuckle a bit as I considered the roles he assumes we play in his life. Maybe it could be a yellow pages listing as, "Addict Services: Rescue when stuck in hospital or jail. Expert clean up for any and all aspects of addict aftermath!"
The logistics of getting dealing with this cleanup were so much easier, I think because we have become so much better at knowing how to deal with all this. It's easier to buy him some new clothes, for example, than digging through his old ones strewn everywhere. It's much easier to think of him living without a lot of items, like dishes, because he needs to be in a group home setting where he doesn't need these.
I am pleased that this time, there wasn't any angst or emotional anguish on our part, and, it made a difference that we didn't clean up the apartment ourselves. There's enough cleaning up to do after an addict family member without this added on to it.
This made me chuckle a bit as I considered the roles he assumes we play in his life. Maybe it could be a yellow pages listing as, "Addict Services: Rescue when stuck in hospital or jail. Expert clean up for any and all aspects of addict aftermath!"
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