Alone

Being the oldest girl of five children, Loree became the second mother to her siblings. She was a fun older sister, always helping the children stretch their imagination.One warm summer day, while Mother was at work and Dad was in an upstairs bedroom passed out in an alcoholic stupor, Loree tried to make an indoor swimming event. Placing a step stool against a dresser, Loree encouraged her brother and sisters to climb to the top, dive into the cool water, and gently splash land on the mattress of a daybed. Unfortunately, when her younger sister took the plunge, she fell upon the metal frame and sustained a significant wound to her leg. Although Loree was only nine years old, she remained calm and applied a crude dressing to the bleeding extremity. Loree told her sister that everything would be all right. This event was the initial sign of Loree's stoic behavior that remained prevalent years later during her own son's drug addiction."Everything is fine!" is the mantra that Loree embraces to remain unflustered and sane as she rides the tumultuous roller coaster of a son's sixteen-year battle with substance use.

-- Valoree Wright