A Surprise Message from a Blog Reader

byannezarra

1.9K followers

Updated 8 months ago

When my son was about fifteen, he had some challenges with ADHD, school refusal, substance use, and a whole host of things. It was a dark time for our family and after doing everything we could think of to help him, we took a leap of faith and sent him to a wilderness therapy program. It saved his life.

I started writing an anonymous blog about our journey. I did this with my son's permission and shared everything we went through. I wrote a vulnerable and honest post each week about our path forward. His treatment was not a quick fix, and we stayed the course. My goal was to help others. What I received in return from reading the blog's comments, truly helped me too.

My son is now 23 and living at home, employed, and slowly adulting. He tried junior college but school is not his bag. He's smart, a computer whiz who loves to 3D print, so he has some good tech skills. He currently is learning about his old Subaru and can change a mean tire!

My blog still exists, though I don't post too much these days. I recommend it to parents going through tough times with their teens, so it still gets views. There is an extensive self-care list on the page that gets downloaded by many.

My Surprise

I received a very nice message today from a family who read my blog who told me it helped them with their troubled son. Their son left for wilderness today, even choosing the same program that we used. They had him transported which is one of the most difficult things a parent decides to do, just like we had done. Those men who came were true "angels".

That family took a huge step towards helping their fifteen year old. I had tears in my eyes as I read the mother's message. She thanked me for sharing our journey and discovered they were not alone. Her fears were replaced with hope. I was very moved.

Not every blog is about dark topics. I wrote my blog with a singular purpose to be able to help someone. And today one of those someones let me know that I succeeded.

You never know who YOU are impacting by what you blog. It is clear to me: there are others who can learn from you, and there are places people can turn to when they need that help. No matter the topic, we can make a difference in others lives.

I am grateful I helped someone with my blog. I am especially touched that they let me know I did. It feels very satisfying.

Let someone know how they helped you. That unexpected message might just make their day. Keep writing your blog posts. It can matter.