All mothers hope that never happens: your child goes off the rails and the drug is addictive. Our guest author has just experienced. Instead of letting your son in a rehab clinic to treat, handle you to an unusual method.
I live in a village in the mountains, am a single parent and have three sons. I am a graduated architect, working as a ski instructor and rent apartments. How could I have guessed what would happen, as was my oldest son, Jonas, at the age of 13 his father to Frankfurt?
He will soon have the wrong friends, the school’s notoriously tails and, ultimately, would cancel? That he would be a drug addict? Everything that could go wrong, went wrong in these three years, in which Jonas (Name changed, d. Red.) not with me and his two younger brothers in our village has lived. There were three very hard years in which I had little contact with Jonas.
About the guest author
Franziska Krafft loves to travel and assumes any sportive challenge. The passionate Amateur sailor, she lives with her three sons in a village in the mountains. On the sailing trip with her drug-addicted son she has written the book “maneuvers”.
Of the addiction clinic on the sailing boat
16 Jonas penalty was due. It is a one-year youth sentence for massive possession and trafficking of Cannabis, various apartment was threatened with burglary, theft, embezzlement, slander, intimidation, property damage and trespassing. Only for the time of the medical drug detoxification in a clinic, the prison sentence was suspended. But what should happen then?
Since the idea came to me: I’ll have Jonas on the boat. I’m a passionate Amateur sailor and have a sailboat. My Plan was to sail with alternating lay-Crew for eight weeks over the North sea and the Baltic sea. My entire environment was extremely skeptical. None has give me any credit for the course. But I felt, this is my Chance.
The rudder around tear
I said to myself: If I manage to get Jonas out of rehab on my sailing boat, I can avoid that he has to be in custody. Then I can rip the rudder perhaps. For this sailing trip, I fought hard. Ultimately, the youth welfare office has approved these trip only because there was no free place for Jonas in an institution. The boat trip was my project as a mom. And a attempt. An attempt Jonas of the drug loszukriegen.
Attention. Like a Fox Mama.
My hope was to stabilize Jonas with the sailing trip, emotionally and physically, but also in social terms, so that a way of life beyond the drugs appeared possible. As Jonas has extensively tested the Dinghy with an electric motor and a petrol engine, I had him always in view. What about the Swiss me, with several of the delinquent youth was on a sailing ship: the air out of The Dinghy out. So that Jonas can’t get out.
I haven’t done. I was so glad that Jonas was finally with us. I was rather attentive. Alert. Like a Fox Mama. Sitting on the mountain in deep snow and when you watch them, you think, she does nothing. But they pricked up their ears and eyes everywhere. So you spotted the Buzzard before he snaps their young. Or the snow avalanche idea, before it goes down.
Who is Kaptän, must solve its own problems
My Ex-husband has been working a lot and we have not separated when the Youngest was once again in the world. Therefore, I always knew, if I want something, I have to do it alone. Maybe this is another reason that I trust the boat trip at all. I have never expected that me a help to change a tire or snow chains fitted.
If something is to do, then I’ll question not for a long time: “do you Think, is this a good idea?” In the time I’ve done it already. Of course also setbacks, a lot of it is to make mistakes. This is me so what of sausage. Errors are part of the learning process.
Initially, Jonas was apathetic
At the beginning of our trip, Jonas apathetic, ate a lot, slept little. Since he has taken a lot of drugs, he was out of rehab. I was glad when he came out of his bunk. Has not spoken it in the beginning too much. We – mother and son – had long had a common everyday and had to get on Board now, also only to each other. After we have reduced this hammer drugs then and finally discontinued.
And Jonas was attentive. Of course, I was in worry whether the thing will go well, whether my idea would work at all. But a sailing boat is a super place for Learning. Each member of the crew – and on the first stage we were only three of us must lend a hand. When it comes to investing in the ports, you need every helping Hand. And so I have included Jonas simply, start with simple Jobs, such as the Fender, so that the elongated rubber-like Stopper, which protects the boat during port maneuvers. The has works. He felt he was needed. And that makes you strong.
Test
Faster than thought, after two weeks of sailing on the Baltic sea, we had in the port of Copenhagen, all of a sudden in a precarious Situation: The Bilge, the lowest point in the boat, ran from now on in a high Tempo full of water and I had no idea where the water came from. I pumped like a Wild. My life has been companion nervous, he thought we are sinking. And because Jonas asked me with eyes wide open: “mommy, can I help you?”
I was so touched that he acted like a normal member of the crew, in a panic, is to become, but with the help offered. After a community clean up and search maneuvers turned out: We have no leak. There is a drain hose from the deck was just a drain in place holes velvet cuff. I was able to easily loosen again, and immediately flowed water into the boat. What a relief! And I was proud of Jonas.
I’ve learned this summer on the boat, to have confidence, to be courageous and above all: never giving up.