Heather Land Instagram – These are my parents. Last night, my 71 year old mother earned her 3-year sobriety chip. I’m really proud of her. She has been addicted to prescription drugs for over three decades. It’s been a very long road for my entire family. In and out of rehab. We’ve got stories… In 2020, I knew I could no longer keep living in the co-dependency so I chose to step away. I didn’t talk to my parents for over two years. It was an extremely sad but necessary decision I made with a lot of support and therapy. I even celebrated the happiest day of my life – my wedding – without my parents in attendance. It was tough. I’m an only child. Not everybody was supportive. I had people tell me I was unforgiving, dishonoring my mother and dishonoring God, but I knew in my heart that forgiveness did not mean sacrificing my own mental health, that God still loved me, and that I also mattered here. Fast forward a few years – after a lot of humility, hard work, ownership, and many necessary conversations, we were finally able to start a much healthier relationship in 2023. I asked her a few weeks ago, “Why are you so different this time?” She immediately said, “Because I finally quit living in shame.” She told me that the shame of her choices always kept her going back to drugs, unable to talk about it and unable to help other people. Now, she’s sharing the good, the bad and the ugly if it will help somebody. If you’ve read this far I guess I would say the take-away is this: -You’re never too old to make a change. -Sometimes doing hard things and setting boundaries is necessary for everybody involved. Don’t let others make you feel guilty. -Shame is a thief. -Humility is everything. -I’m proud of my mom. If you’re an addict, I hope you feel hopeful. If you’re a co-dependent, I hope you can find strength to get therapy and set healthy boundaries. And if you’re giving advice to either, lead with love. Save the rest for a therapist. 💗 I hope this helps somebody today. And I hope you’ll get to hear more from my mother as time goes on. I will be speaking at some churches and women’s events on this in the next few months. Comedy and trauma are such a great combination. 😏