We are thrilled to have Larry Robiner, a father of a young man in recovery and a Partnership Parent Coach, speak at our upcoming Winter Wish Gala on December 4 in New York City. Read his story below.When my wife and I brought our first child home from the hospital, I strapped him into his NHTSA-approved baby seat in the middle of the back seat of our Camry. I drove 45 MPH on the highway. While Rachael expressed motherly concerns about umbilical cords and breastfeeding, I mentally scanned the future for potential perils I might face in my newfound fatherhood. “I think I’ve got this parenting thing figured out,” I announced, “until he asks for the car keys.”
Sixteen years later, the day that I had long dreaded finally arrived. And you know what? He was an excellent driver from the start. All that worrying for nothing.
His teen years flew by without the angst that many of our friends experienced with their own adolescents. He played the piano and baseball, quoted Seinfeld, was passionate about fitness, skiing and nutrition. He was a joyful, loving son and big brother, compassionate and sensitive. He never partied. The only time he was ever sent to the principal’s office, the principal said, “What are YOU doing here?”
I remember thinking that I never had to worry about my son misusing drugs and alcohol because he never wanted to put so much as a carbohydrate in his body.
But our blissful ignorance was shattered when my phone rang one afternoon in February during his junior year in college. His friend in Colorado called to report horrific news of drugs and police, all spiraled way out of control. Rachael and I were completely dumbfounded. We couldn’t fathom how this could be happening. We thought our son was studying in the library.
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