FEARS OF A MUMSIE

BECAUSE I AM NOW 61 I CAN SAY

I HAVE SEEN A FEW DECADES.

LIKE PROBABLY OUR PARENTS,

I WORRY ABOUT THE GENERATIONS COMING UP.

I HAD MY FAIR SHARE OF EXPERIMENTAL YEARS

WITH UNDERAGE DRINKING, BEING WHERE I WAS

NOT SUPPOSED TO BE, YOU KNOW...

"NORMAL TEENAGE STUFF"

MY CHILDREN ARE NOW ADULTS AND

PAST THE CRAZY TEENAGE YEARS WHERE

WE HAD TO WORRY ABOUT PREGNANCY, DRUGS, ETC.

THIS DOES NOT MEAN I DON'T WORRY AT ALL.

THE GRANDGIRLS ARE NOT MINE TO RAISE,

I AM ONLY PART OF THEIR VILLAGE YET

I HAVE AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THIER LIFE,

TO SHARE MY FEARS AND WISDOM.

NOW I WRITE HERE MY BIGGEST FEAR FOR MY GRANDGIRLS

AND THOSE WHO ARE COMING UP...

FENTANYL.

IF WE DID NOT ACTUALLY EXPERIMENT WITH DRUGS

OR DRINKING AS TEENAGERS, YOUNG ADULTS

WE KNEW AT LEAST A DOZEN WHO DID.

WHILE ADDICTION IS A THING,

THE HONEST TRUTH ABOUT THAT IS MOST

TEENS WILL EXPERIMENT WITH DRUGS AND THEN

STOP WHEN THEY BECOME AN ADULT IN THE WORKING WORLD.

THERE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE ADDICTION TENDENCIES

WHO SUFFER BUT HONESTLY, STATISTICS SAY

MOST WILL BE OKAY.

WELL, UNTIL FENTANYL CAME TO BE.

EXPERIMENTING WITH DRUGS CAN BE DEADLY NOW

AND YOU JUST DON'T KNOW IF SOMETHING IS LACED WITH THIS DRUG.

SO MANY ARE THINKING THEY ARE DOING ONE THING,

MAYBE SOMETHING THEY HAVE DONE BEFORE

ONLY TO BE FOUND DEAD THE NEXT DAY.

OR STRUGGLING PARENTS WHO SOMEHOW

HAVE LACED DRUGS AND THE BABIES ARE FOUND DEAD

BECAUSE OF FENTANYL.

I CAN SEE NO REASON WE NEEDED A DRUG 10 TIMES

GREATER THAN MORPHINE THAT CAN BE ABSORBED

ALSO INTO THE SKIN OR PUT ON SOMETHING AND IT

BE UNDETECTED, THAT CAN KILL YOU BEFORE

NARCAN ARRIVES.

THE FACT THAT THERE ARE TEST STRIPS TO DETECT 

FENTANYL IN ILLEGAL DRUGS IS CRAZY!

ITS SOOO SCARY FOR ME.

I DON'T WANT TO SCARE THE GRANDGIRLS  BUT

I ALSO WANT TO MAKE THEM AWARE OF JUST

HOW DANGEROUS THIS IS.

IT IS SAD THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE THESE TYPES

OF CONVERSATIONS WITH THOSE WE LOVE.

THANKFULLY, IN OUR FAMILY WE ALL HAVE 

OPEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ALL KINDS OF THINGS,

EATING DISORDERS, RELATIONSHIPS, DRUGS AND

YES, FENTANYL.

WE LIVE IN SUCH A SMALL TOWN LIKE MANY OF YOU DO.

IN SOME WAYS OUR CHILDREN ARE NAIVE TO

THINGS OF THE WORLD.

ITS A GREAT CHILDHOOD WE GIVE THEN WHERE

THEY ARE PROTECTED FROM SO MUCH EVIL.

YET IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO EDUCATE THEM

ON THESE TOPICS. 

THEY WILL DO THINGS WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT UNTIL

THEY ARE OLDER AND THEY TELL US STORIES  TO MAKE US LAUGH.

SHOOT, I AM STILL FINDING OUT THINGS MY CHILDREN

DID AS KIDS THAT I NEVER KNEW AND THEY ARE 39 AND 35!

WE WANT TO KEEP THEM FREE FROM WORRY

YET THEY WILL GO OUT INTO THE WORLD ONE DAY

AND FACE THINGS OUR LITTLE TOWN PROTECTED THEM FROM.

HAVE THE HARD CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUR PEOPLE.

CODDLE THEM, REMIND THEM HOW FORTUNATE THEY ARE

THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT

BILLS, A BED TO SLEEP IN, HOW THEY WILL BE FED.

BUT ALSO TELL THEM ABOUT THE DANGERS IN THE WORLD

THAT THEY ONE DAY WILL BE FACED WITH.

START WITH FENTANYL....