S2E3: Advocating for Addiction Recovery… And Our Loved Ones

Beyond Hope

What’s been happening? During this episode, I chat with you a little bit about what’s been going on in my world. I know my last episode kind of left things in just a state of flux. I had recorded kind of what I was going through at that moment and I try hard to be as transparent as I can with this podcast while also respecting my daughter. I feel really, really blessed because my daughter is so supportive of what I’m doing
Throughout the last six years or so, throughout my daughter’s addiction, I was so caught up in trying to help her in any way that I could to help her, so that she could live her best life. And it’s taken me so long to realize that’s not my role. She’s an adult and this is the path that she’s chosen. And I know that I have done everything within my power to offer her opportunities to change her life and to take a different path.
I want it all. I want to be a part of her life. I want to share her life with her. I want to see her sharing her gifts with this world. What she has really taught me over the last four months or so is she deserves the opportunity to find her own way without, without Mom. It has forced me to step back and to give her that space that she was requiring. By making the choices that she was making, she was telling me that she was going to do this her way. And no matter what, I’m always loving her and supporting her.
I think that she has the right to, to do this on her own. Does it make me happy? And I wouldn’t say it makes me happy. Does it make me proud? Yes. Does it make me nervous? Hell yes. But you know, this is her life and just like I had to find my own way in this world, and I had to make my own mistakes and figure out what it was that I needed to be my best self. She is doing the same thing. She’s really following that same path.
I wanted to share with you something that I did a couple of months ago that surprised me. Advocacy has not been at the forefront of my mind. A couple of months ago it was Washington’s Recovery Advocacy Day. I took the day off from work and went to Olympia and I was privileged to be able to join 400 other people there in Olympia. And we spoke to different legislators and shared our voices and talked about why these bills were important to us and to our communities.
And along with that, I got to advocate for my daughter. I felt like I was doing something and that was so important to me because I was just sitting here waiting. Waiting, I guess for something. Waiting to hear from my daughter, waiting to hear what’s going on with her, waiting to find out if she has relapsed, waiting to know if she’s gone back to treatment.
And I felt kind of paralyzed. Well, when I went to Olympia and I got to surround myself with other people who are advocating for the same things. It felt so amazing and I wanted to speak about it. And I wanted to encourage you, if you are in a place right now, like where I was, where you’re feeling helpless to find a way to reach out and serve somehow.
It’s really going to help, and I would just highly encourage you to consider it. Consider what you might be able to do for your community.
I also just wanted to tell you that I do feel sorry that I haven’t been more, more open the last few months. I want to show up and speak on a regular basis and I want to share what I’m going through and I want to talk about it.
I just want you to know that I am grateful to each and every one of you for sharing this journey with me. I also wanted to tell you that I have a couple of Facebook groups. And I do share things in there. I share quotes, I do love quotes, the ones that touched my heart. Please visit and join if you are wanting to connect with us, we’d love to have you.
I love you and I look forward to talking with you soon. I encourage you to go out there and find moments of joy and celebrating them and you to lift each other up through positivity and I’ll talk with you soon.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/create.momentum/
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Beyond Hope with Shar Jones
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