Back Story

January, 18^th, 2013; the day the whistle of the oncoming train stopped being a far off foreboding and became a full blown reality as it tore right through the center of our home.  It barreled through these walls with such ferocity that the residents were left strewn in all directions; deaf from the screech of steel, gasping through choking fumes, horrified at the destruction.  To those observing this event from the bottom of the pine cone littered driveway that led to the peaceful chalet style mountain home it was no more concerning than the ping of a smoke alarm that needed its battery changed.   After all, he was just an 18 year old young man who had been caught smoking pot. I, his mother, however, understood fully all that this simple act of defiance meant.  I had heard the sound of this train coming for as long as I could remember.  Not every night, but many, I would lay my head down on my pillow, and like an ear pressed against the cold iron rail, I could hear what no one else could; the rumble of steel, far off.

This is the first post of many that will describe the journey our family has taken from "Normal" to where we find ourselves today.  It is about how mental illness has changed us forever.