Hi Joan,
Saturday February 10 1996 19:02, Joan Rea wrote to Harriet Levy:
 JR> responsible then I'm free - that's what AA gave me,
 JR> responsibility for my own life.
You know, this struck home for me this morning, as I am in the middle of a 
week long battle with my 12 year old son. He insists he's old enough and 
responsible enough to have more freedom of choice about his own life. I agree 
with him. I insist that with the freedom come responsibilities. He doesn't 
agree with me! :-)
I watch him trying to strike the right balance between the two as he goes 
through adolescence, and in him see my own problems of balance mirrored. The 
wild see-saw of emotions during puberty isn't that different from the wild 
see-saw of emotions when trying to overcome an addiction.
He still wants to be a child, but he wants to be grown-up too. It's hard to 
learn that you can't always be the one you fancy at any particular time. Or 
perhaps that's what growing up is really about... a time and a place for 
everything?
Pat
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