Bear With Me, I Want To Tell You Something

Ifirst heard the poem back in 2006. It was read aloud on the radio by a famous performer who has since lost favor in the eyes of the literati, so he shall remain nameless. I was struck by the simplicity of it at the time. The vivid detail and the raw emotion commanded you to stop and listen. It reminded me of how often we get caught up in what’s practical. We forget to allow for a little joy. It was to become a difficult time for our family. We didn’t know it then, but our youngest child was already starting to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol to deal with what he felt was an incongruous existence. Ricky was only fourteen but had been a difficult student since he entered the second grade. He was a happy kid otherwise, but the odd constraints of school did not sit well with his undiagnosed place on the spectrum. Oh, sure, he was ADHD, but wasn’t everyone? He had an IEP and a 504 and had all manner of special designations, but mostly, he hated school because it made him feel stupid, and he was anything but. We saw specialists and had countless meetings with his “team.” None of it seemed to make any difference. Eventually, the weed and booze turned to pills, and when the Oxycontin became cost-prohibitive, he turned to heroin. It would be many years before he fully returned to us. Lots of sleepless nights — crying, screaming, and pleading. <a href="https://medium.com/ellemeno/bear-with-me-i-want-to-tell-you-something-cd17e9646847">Click Here</a>