The Teenage Street Girl

I saw a girl on the street corner when I went to go pick up my son. She was kind of dirty with dark, matted, hair. I wasn't sure if she was a homeless person or just waiting for a ride. She had on dark clothes and a back pack and was leaning up against the brick wall on the sidewalk.

About two hours later, we were driving home, it was dark and my son said, "There's a person laying on the sidewalk against the wall." It was the same spot that I had noticed the girl earlier. I was a little worried and quickly turned the car around to see if she was okay. She was curled up in a fetal position with her head facing the wall. I pulled over and asked if she was okay. Luckily she said, "Yeah, I'm fine." She was so young...16 or 17. I couldn't imagine what would put her on the street like that. I said, "Are you sure you're okay? Do you want some pizza?"

I had just dropped some off for my husband and the kids at the football field. He had loaded up one box and taken it. There was still another box, breadsticks and some pizza. She quickly got up and came closer to the car, "What?" The tone in her voice burst out louder, anxiously anticipating the question that she thought she heard. I reached for the pizza box, only to find it was an empty box. My husband had taken ALL of the slices. I said, "I'm sorry I didn't know the pizza was gone. Would you like some breadsticks and a Pepsi?" "YES...THANKS" I handed it to her. Still worried about her, "Do you need anything?" Hoping she would burst out with a loud "YES...I'm alone, scared, I have no where to go and no one to turn to, I need help." Of course the only answer was, "No." As I pulled away I saw a policeman driving slowly by.

I got home and couldn't get the girl out of my head. I grabbed a pillow, blanket and this amazing book that I've been reading and re-reading every morning (3rd time), "Battlefield of the Mind," by Joyce Meyers. I drove back to the spot she was laying, but she was gone.

What would drive a young girl with her whole life ahead of her onto the streets? Was it drugs, abuse, fear...she was so young. Whose child is it? Are they worried about her, unable to sleep, driving around hoping to find her? My head just kept going over all these possiblities. As a mother, my first instinct is to save her. I know that some people don't think they need or want help. I know that I can only show unconditional, non-judgemental love by giving what I have to make them see that they are not alone in the world. Maybe someone's act of kindness will reach deep inside their heart and make a difference. I don't know, but my responsibility is to listen when my heart is being tugged...going the extra step to help someone in need, just like others have reached out during difficult times in my life.

Teenage Prescription Drug Abuse-Are You Their Dealer?

I've recently been exposed to the world of drug abuse. I know what you're thinking...wake up it's been a problem for years! Well I know that, BUT I had no idea about the HUGE prescription drug problem going on in our High Schools, Middle Schools, and even Elementary Schools.

Most parents check and snoop around their kids rooms for cigarettes, pot, cocaine, crystal meth and ecstasy, but I wonder how many of you actually are checking your own medicine cabinets? Do you ever think about keeping track of how many pills you have left in your prescription bottles? What about those pain pills that you were given during your last visit to the doctor or the dentist, you know...the ones that you never finished and thought, "Oh well I will just save it for the next time I have a migraine, feel sick or my back is hurting." We all have the secret little "left over" stash for emergency purposes. Do you even remember which bottle's you had? Would you know if any of your "stash" went missing?

Unfortunately, this is the current problem facing our kids today. No longer do they have to go out and try to locate a drug dealer or scrounge up enough money to buy the drugs. You have become their new "FREE" drug dealer. Right in the comfort of their own home, they can get high from their, loving, caring and trusting parents. That's right, you have not only become your children's drug dealer but also the neighborhood supplier.

More and more teenagers are taking these drugs in large quantities and then mixing it with alcohol (yes, probably also supplied by you). They will then sell their extra pills to their friends, WOW, what incredibly smart little entrepreneurs you've raised! You have now started getting the whole neighborhood high, with the excuse of, "I didn't know, I couldn't remember how many pills I had left in the bottle" or "I thought I lost the bottle so I had it refilled". I will give you two words to think about "HEATH LEDGER".

These kids do not discriminate...if you have prescription pills of any kind, Vicodin, Darvocet Loritab, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety pills, pills for depression, hyper-activity pills...you name it they'll take it! Everyone seems to have a pill for every problem, which means easy access for our children. WAKE UP PARENTS!! We need to lock up ALL of our medication and keep a list of how many pills are in each bottle.

Open your eyes and see that we may be giving our children a prescription for a lifetime of abuse, anger, self-loathing, misery, and even death...why... because WE JUST DIDN'T REALIZE!