We have sent our son to a Wilderness Therapy Program for the summer. Life is much calmer at home but the constant heart ache does not go away. The house is quieter but I can still hear his voice or see him coming down the stairs, I realize our family will never be the same. Now is the time to start redirecting our energies to other family members and activities. Then there is the constant question looming and planning for his transition after Wilderness, it seems like there is always the next step decision.
We did have a planned “family” summer vacation. This vacation had been planned for over a year, we were “all” looking forward to Hawaii, but now that my son was in Wilderness we did not know what to do. Our pocket book had also been hit hard by the program and the vacation was not going to be cheap. All the professionals that we asked told us we should not cancel our plans; easy for them to say. The reasoning was that our son needed to learn that due to his behaviors, life still goes on at home. Now our vacation is to teach our son a lesson? We continued with our plans and departed for Hawaii on schedule.
In hindsight, I could have done without that vacation. We have had some pretty fun family vacations but this time it was not right. Don’t get me wrong, I love Hawaii and would not miss a chance to go. I think we were all a bit raw and trying to force having a good time. Our family had just been scarred and the wounds had not healed enough for us. We were awkward and I think I should have listened more to my heart.
What would I have done differently? It was important for us to get away, especially for our younger son and I understand the “professional” point of view. It may have been better if we went someplace closer to home, less expensive and not a location with so many past memories. It is important not to let your life revolve around your adolescent that is away and in treatment, but not listening to your heart and feelings may lead disappointment.
That was our experience with summer vacation after placing our son in therapeutic wilderness program, have you had similar experiences?
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