Anticipation

I love looking forward to Christmas almost as much as the day itself.

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The decorations, the cooking, the furtive shopping trips, the sudden appearance of gifts under the tree…

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But not every family is looking forward to the holidays this year.

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Flipping through the news the other night, my husband, Cal, and I were stopped cold listening to a mother whose 17 year old son Zach died suddenly the day after Christmas two years ago. No more looking forward to Christmas.

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It came without warning. Smart kid, good grades, good friends, plenty of interests, applying to college. Then gone.

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Maybe it was stress, fatigue, boredom. No one really knows. He used his phone to order Percocet pills on Snapchat. Didn’t even have to leave the house. But what he got were pills laced with Fentanyl. Two days later he took one pill and died, an overdose.

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This is becoming all too common. So even if you think you’ve talked with your kids or grandkids about drug use, please consider talking again, and again. Really talking. Not a lecture, not an accusation, just open sharing of information and love so we can all look forward to many more joyful holidays together, however you like to celebrate. 

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Here’s to more resilient wins at home and school,

Anne