Random Thoughts on Hidden Potential

The title of this blog should be "If only there were a life proof case for people" or it could be "Where did all that potential go?"

I spent the day in court witb my older son, the one in rehab right now. Johnathon was on an out of control spiral just before he went to rehab. As  I mentioned in an earlier post, he is a juvenile diabetic and for him his addiction took precedent over his health and he had slipped into several diabetic comas that resulted in calls for an ambulance the weeks leading up to his leaving for rehab. Once he tried to drive after midnight when his blood sugar was less than 40. Of course he got pulled over for reckless driving and ended up going to jail for a DUI. Then there was the time some buddies found him unconcious and called an ambulance at 2:00 am which resulted in the police coming with in with the paramedics and finding a substance that resulted in a ticket being issued and another court case. Then there was the altercation that resulted in two additional charges. All three cases were on the court docket today with two different Judges.

Today was the first time johnathon has been back home since he left for rehab about two months ago. His first case was at 9:00 am this morning in traffic court and before we could get passed the front door of the court house and into the court room Johnathon had seen at least three people he knew from his not so distance past. Inside the court rooom we ran into more of his "aquantances". It's wonderful to see my son clear eyed, alert and able to handle issues on his own, but I knew that these acquaintances would be a "trigger" that would bring back memories of a rocky but yet familiar way of life for him. Our day and his cases went as expected. He had a few rough moments but for the most part what the Judges really wanted was to know that he would complete rehab and have a chance at living a drug free life.

There were a couple of other young adults in the court room with mom's who were there like me to try one more time to put their child back on the right track. But there were so many more who had no
one or worse yet someone in the same situation as they were with them. I have never seen so much lack of respect for themselves or others and a general lack of manners or common courtesy. And the very ones who were rude or dressed inappropriately for a public appearance much less a court appearnace were the same ones who would never understand why there situation wasn't going to magically change.

Now before you make a judgement call on my description of those I saw in court today let me quickly say that what I really saw was so much lost potential. The lovely young lady with a "don't talk to me attitude" or the clearly intelleigent smart guy who lost his phone to the balif or the tall affaible guy who couldn't control his temper after a little indulgence. Each of these young people had a unique story that brought them together on this particular day. And each of them could tell you something that they didn't get as a child or was taken away from them through no fault of theirs. Or maybe theirs was just a series of poor judgement calls that put them in front of the Judge on this particular day.

But what I really kept wondering is what would happen if somone showed them that every atrribute they thought they were missing was simply a skill, that if they applied themselves, they could learn and what if someone told them they could really make a difference in themselves, their families lives and the world around them. What I was really wondering was since there isn't a lifeproof case for people could any of that lost potential be reclaimed?