Miracles

We often write about the things that bring us joy. Sometimes though we need to write about some of the tougher things in life. The last eight weeks have been the hardest I have experienced to date. But I am sure that for Paige it was harder. Eight weeks ago we took Paige to an outdoor wilderness program. We felt that for Paige to get a hold of her life and really deal with herself she needed this experience. She has been home one week now and shared with us how it turned out to be the life changing experience she needed. But not knowing the outcome and how things were before she left, made this a very scary thing to do. David and I knew we were doing the right thing but that did not make it any easier. We love Paige so much and felt that we had to give her this opportunity - she had the choice to let it work for her or not - but we had to give it to her. Believe me it was not something she would have done on her own. When I have a child I hold such high hopes for them. I dream how they will grow and be as adults. My job is to safely get them to that point. When they are little it is so easy to set the boundaries and the consequences. But as they turn to young adults this job becomes sometimes overwhelming. Paige needed to see that her actions were affecting all the people she loved. The most rewarding thing that came from this for me is just that - she realized how much her family did love her and how much she needed us. She said that some of the kids would say they missed their PS2 or certain foods. She said "I did not want anything but to be back with my family!" Paige was letting a lot of things control her life. She learned that she needed to take control and find peace within herself. She just needed the time away from the "real world" to find out where the little girl we all know and love went to. She still has a lot of battles to fight but I think that she has found how to fight the battles and that she can win! No mother ever wants their child to get hurt. Watching Paige hurt herself was more than we could watch. Seeing her today as the light has come back in her eyes, I see she is feeling so much better about herself. Miracles still happen in today's world and in our little Weitzel world Paige is the proof.