No one can fully prepare us. Our babies will grow up. They will will make adult decisions. They will make immature decisions when they think they are grown. Sometimes all we can do is stand on the sidelines. Our children are so different. We do the best we can. Some are just hell-bent to make their own mistakes.

I will be the last to say that I was a perfect mom. I have made my own mistakes. I am working so hard on myself now so that I can do things better moving forward. I will continue to make mistakes. I will not share the mistakes of my children. Their stories are theirs to tell.

I have a child that has been on a troubled path. We have been working so hard go keep him on a straight line. We have stood by and he just made a huge mistake. We are now walking the fine line of making sure he learns from his mistakes and being there for him, but not cushioning the fall too much.

This is hard. How do we know what is right? How can we be sure he is learning from his mistake, especially because he easily could have died? How do we not blur the line? When do we truly let our children go from the nest?

People need be rectified from his mistake. Is that our responsibility or his? Eighteen is simply a number. The law uses it to tell us when we become an adult. Brain development is a much more complex issue. If you ask him, he became an adult years ago. If you ask me, he is still years away.

This all comes back to taking care of our own mental health. We cannot be anything useful for ourselves or our families if we are drowning ourselves. I am so thankful that I am in a better place. That has helped me navigate this situation. There are still so many questions, but at the end of the day, my son needs us to just stand next to him and hold his hand. Right now, I have the capacity to do just that.