When coming to Back 2 Basics, my parents told me that I would be staying for three months. I was really excited about coming here because I still had 5 months left in the half-way house I was staying at. So, I thought it was going to be a shorter stay.
When my parents arrived, I was very happy to see them because I hadn’t seen them for two months. We started the day out by having breakfast with all the residents and then we all played Taboo. Taboo was fun because I had not been very close with my parents the past few years, let alone sit down with them to play games. After, some of the staff had an information presentation with my parents. The staff showed them how drugs affect the brain and how it processes information differently. This helped a lot because it showed my parents that this really is a disease. After the presentation, we had a family therapy session.
The next day for family weekend, we all went for a hike through Buffalo Park. I got to express what we had been doing at Back 2 Basics in the last few months. After the hike, we had a BBQ and hung out with the staff, my parents, and other residents and their family. After the BBQ, my parents took me to see a movie and ended with us going to the bookstore. I knew it was time for my parents to leave, and I’m glad that we got to build our relationship a little stronger. So we parted on good terms, which would have never happened a few months ago. Family weekend ended up being a great experience overall.