Walking Away

I've learned that the drug addict often redirects attention from himself by making accusations towards me. And often I find myself taking the bait. "You never believe me. How could you not believe your own son? Your approval is what I want most because you're my mother. How can a mother believe a total stranger over her son?" And then I'm off and running, defending myself and trying to rationalize with an irrational person. I find myself trying to build a case to defend my actions. And the craziness escalates.

It's okay to not defend yourself. It's okay to say nothing. It's okay to walk away. It's okay to hang up. Nothing is achieved by arguing with an active drug addict. The drug addict is not the same person I know. I am not arguing with my son but with my son on drugs. I will never win.

So in those difficult times when I'm being attacked to take the heat off him; I need to take care of myself. I need to learn to walk away.