80. Follow Me! (Or not…)

“My parents think I’m crazy for going to rehab,” The Kid said.  “Their lives are so warped they don’t see anything wrong with mine. My sister can’t see past her report card and the bathroom scale.  She thinks my overdose was an accident.  I want to shake them, make them see we all need to change.  Lead them to something better.”

Terrence said, “Before you try to lead them, you gotta explore that better place yourself.  Before you convince your sister she needs help, you gotta show her you’re not crazy, that getting help changed your life.”

“And kid,” Matey said, “You can’t know if or when they’ll follow you.  Connie Lee got help a long time ago. I’m just now following her example. But, if she hadn’t gone exploring on her own, there’d be no path for me to follow. You do what you gotta do to find your path.”

Today I will remember before I can lead, I have to explore.

Sober Not Somber © 2015, 2016 by Ken Montrose

(Just a reminder: Sober Not Somber is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to anyone you might know is purely coincidental.)