kbois

I'm glad he did too. It really opened my eyes.

I don't think any parent is capable of helping a child with any type of mental issue without professional guidance. A lot of parents don't or won't recognize the fact that their kid needs help. When they do? Good luck finding the right resources. Our entire healthcare system is broken and mental health is one of the lowest rungs on the ladder. Kudos to you for taking the opportunity given to learn how to help kids who needed it.

Thanks Raven. It is too common of a problem. I wish it wasn't.

I came really close to sending you a private message when I first read this comment. It blew me backwards on my ass. Thank you for straight up giving me a smack in the face wake up call. Avery’s perspective is something I didn't consider when writing this. I couldn't. I wouldn't even know where to begin. You brought up so many valid points and in hindsight, I can now see how they apply to my son as well. So much of what he says and does is a direct result of his mental status. Him being delayed in development.. check. He's 21 and has the maturity level of a 15 or 16 year old. Us not 'magically' understanding his thought process.. check. Him internalizing his feelings of not being good enough, not measuring up to his older brother.... check. Like Maverick, I was completely blindsided by my son. The fight they had in the car? Totally happened. Now I understand why a little bit better. Thank you for reminding me there are always two sides to every story. I'm working on having more patience when my son goes off on one of his tirades hating everything about life including me. Logically, I know it's the mental illness talking. Emotionally it still hurts.

Thanks. It's weird. Our son is back living in our house (I didn't have much choice) and even though things are better than they were a few months ago, we still barely talk to each other. It's possible to go low contact in the same house.

Yeah, Val, you could say I've had some personal experience. It's a struggle, but what else can you do but deal with whatever life throws at you? This was my way of dealing.

We're good, my friend. I know stories like this are really hard for you. Thank you for reading it through.

Thanks. There aren't many people who haven't dealt with mental illness at some point. Everyone knows someone who struggles with depression, anxiety, OCD, or a vast array of other issues. The human mind is incredibly complex and can be incredibly strong or incredibly fragile. You never know what life will throw at you and how you'll handle it.

You know you guessed it right off the bat.

Thanks. We don't actually have a diagnosis of Aspergers for our son, but from talking with a therapist and doing a lot of research, his behavior and behavior history fit the bill perfectly. It explains so much of his childhood. And yes... I truly wish we knew much earlier. He fell into the group of kids who fell under the ADHD umbrella but it was more than that and we didn’t know.

Thanks. I think all families who have someone with mental illness go through a roller coaster ride on a daily basis. Not knowing what mood someone will be in can have you walking on eggshells all day. Yet, when things are good it tends to balance it out. It's one day at a time.

Nope. Love isn't always enough. Thanks for being there. ❤️

Yep... firsthand experience. It's so hard as a parent to see your child struggle and not be able to do anything because they are an "adult". I can't just take him to the doctor anymore. It's even more difficult when their mental illness tells them there's nothing wrong with their behavior and they refuse to do anything.

Thanks. When it's right up in your face, there's no way of denying the reality of how mental illness can affect people. It sneaks up on you.

Thanks Chris. You hit the nail on the head. There's a lot of other adjectives, but the list is too long.

You all have NO idea how difficult it was not to respond to comments. It nearly killed me! So... about this story. Yes. It is a hard one. It was emotionally and mentally hard to write. But it was was either write the fucking story or end up like Maverick. A lot of what happened is ripped from the pages of my life. A bit is embellished. Some is pure literary fiction. My younger son struggles with mental health issues. It's ongoing. It will be with him for the rest of his life. Right now we've reached a better place than where we were before. It's not ideal, but it's working. So yeah, this story was more of an outlet for me than anything else. It just happened to coincide with the Secret Author. Thanks for sticking through this one. I know it was hard. I hope I never have to visit Maverick again. He's a nice guy and all, but I don't need the reasons for him being in my head. I hope the phone call is Avery with good news. I honestly have no idea.

Thanks Chris. I didn't try to change my writing style for this story. It was written for a reason, not to try out something new. I actually didn't want to write the story. I had to. I'm glad you got one right!

You're welcome.

I couldn't either. I had to change my phone's setting to desktop view and then it showed. Not sure why it happens. Probably something some evil programmer decided to code just to mess with us.

I think @Wayne Gray is already keeping a running list of some of my more memorable tales of idiots of yore. I guess we'll have to bring him on board. Over 30 years in customer service in some way, shape, or form and the stories are endless. There's nothing I won't believe anymore. The more off the wall, the more likely it is to be true.

You’ll make it tim. One idiot assh Karen um, day at a time. We've had a rash of break-ins and two stolen cars at the park this week and now the residents are chattering about getting a gate at the entrance. We've already been through this a couple of years ago and they were told it's not possible. The county won't allow it as we don't have enough road frontage. I have a better solution. Lock your cars and don't leave the keys in them people!! I swear, the stupidity astounds me. Both cars that were stolen were unlocked and the keys were in them. Just.... NO. Hang in there, only a few more weeks!

Some days the human race speaks for itself. Which says a lot.

I love absolute conviction 🤭

Congratulations!!