The three C's of Ohio

A good month January was. We spent a weekend in Cleveland earlier in Jan. Then this past weekend (which technically was Feb), we galovanted away on another overnight to Cinci. One of Scott's buddies, Chike, got married to his beautiful bride, Corinne. Chike is a resident at the Children's Hospital in Cinci (specializing in cardiology, as it so happens) and made himself available when we needed second, third, and fourth opinions about Duncan's care. Chike was well-informed about HLHS. He has truly been a gift to us.

Anyway, the wedding was put together in 3 weeks. 3 WEEKS! I thought my 6 month engagement was impressive. Chike and Corinne got engaged a bit ago and had planned on hosting the wedding for summer/fall of this year. But, they decided right after New Years, WHY THE HECK SHOULD WE WAIT? So, with the help of a very capable wedding planner, they pulled it off in 3 week's time. We were thrilled to be able to make it. KK and Grandma Lynette held down the fort here in Columbus with Jackson.

We had a blast. And, despite the fact that my camera is GLUED to my behind when my child is the star, I failed to bring it along to capture our own fun! Pooh. You'll just have to believe me when I say the exclusive Metropolitan Club where the reception was held made for a VERY EXCUISITE evening. Scott and I even partook in some adult beverages. Yeehaa.

In other news, I heard from Justin yesterday. Which felt VERY good. Given his history with substance abuse and his self-admitted troubles with depression, one cannot help but create really negative storylines when no news is reported on its own. So, not hearing from him directly since early December had my thoughts in a tailspin.

He sounded well. He was honest and authentic, which are qualities very hard to muster when engaged in active addiction. So that is the good news. The shakey news is that he reported not having a plan for what is next - returning to Louisville is not a good idea, he said, since so many of his using buddies would pull him back in, and staying in a state forest with nothing but a tent separating him from the stars is not a long-lived plan. So, he is trying hard to piece together a future for himself. I cannot imagine what that is like, can you? He has strong family roots, but otherwise must feel so homeless. He has an able body to work, but his legal record -less than sparkling white - makes job-hunting a daunting task. He has so many deep, smart, interesting thoughts spewing from that head, but it's the same head that contains bad feelings about himself and dreary thoughts about life. And, lastly, the guy is such a good friend to others (sometimes to his fault), but doesn't believe he is deserving of quality friendships. So while on the one hand he has complete liberty, void of commitments and obligations, to start fresh and new - on the other, he is bound by so much fear and is held captive by his own baggage.

I do not know what that life would feel like. And only those who have been in that same boat can truly reach Justin. That is why I pray for him to reinvolve himself in AA and NA. A recovering addict can smell BS a lot better than someone without that track record. And, furthermore, a recovering addict's bluff-calling holds a lot more water and authority than my bluff-calling. How would I know what it's like to be Justin? I just pray for guidance for him.