just say no

Some days I just want to sit Cha down and explain in great detail why I feel that drugs are bad. I want to pull out pictures, videos, facts and figures and tell her personal stories of how drug use and abuse has ruined lives of people she knows and loves. And I want to tell her every single day to Just Say No. Not that I will have much control over it but I want that information in her databank so she can think about it when the time comes.

We had the drugs, alcohol and cigarettes conversation and she knows how her father and I feel about them. But sometimes I feel the need to Scared Straight her, before she even gets a chance to stray.

Yesterday I saw a girl who broke a little piece of my heart. She's a girl from my neighborhood, a casual acquaintance I met years ago. Back then she was a fresh faced babysitter who was flirting with the wrong crowd. Fast forward several months and she's living with someone who was arrested for manufacturing and distributing drugs. A few months later the two of them are physically fighting in front of my house. Then one day she's pregnant, they get evicted and are forced to find an even less desirable living arrangement.

I continued to see her around town, waiting tables and cashiering at several different places. She was a hard worker juggling two jobs and taking care of her child. I'd ask about her life and her baby and she always said things were good. I never asked about the boyfriend.

She was someone Cha knew. The girl babysat for her friends and they'd see each other on the playground. If I were to say the girl's name now I'm sure Cha would remember her.

Yesterday the girl was barely recognizable. My jaw seriously hit the floor when I realized who she was. She was a Faces of Meth poster come to life and it was disturbing. The hair was a mess, the face looked beaten up, she weighed less than a 100 lbs and she was wearing pajamas that were hanging off her. She was stumbling up to a customer service counter to purchase lottery tickets. I did not have the heart to stop and say hello. All I could do was stare and wish that Cha was standing next to me so I could point to the girl and show her what drugs can do to you.

And of course pray for the girl's mother.