I don't think it's as simple as it can happen to anyone at anytime but there are environments that promote substance abuse and there are people who are genetically susceptible. In Syd's case both are at play, plus her age is working against her. The younger they start, the harder it is to overcome and in this town they start young. I wish I'd known when we divorced, it would have been the perfect time to sell and move but I didn't want to uproot the kids. Besides, even if I had known, it might not have made much difference, though I expected Syd to be a handful and knew she would be one to experiment, I thought common sense would prevail. I didn't know she carried the "gene" for addiction just as I didn't know that it is a tradition in our town for eighth graders to drink after school - a trend that is fueled by older boys preying on the young girls. Add to that me getting a job where I worked longer hours, was less available and usually stressed and exhausted, and her father moving in with his girlfriend and her daughter so Syd felt abandoned by both of us - all the ingredients were in place. Unfortunately, as I already mentioned, this is also a town rife with dysfunction. It is full of kids who wander at will with parents who don't know and don't care where they are. My daughter wants that same freedom, she can't understand why I won't just let her be. She is home now, by the way. The police brought her home last night and we were at the local hospital getting a psych eval until 3 AM. I don't think it made much of an impact, though, we've been there before.
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