The Ocean’s Riptide Teaches How to Survive Someone’s Active Addiction
There is power in letting go
When I was a kid, we went to the Jersey shore once every summer, and it was a big deal.
Although we owned a cottage on a lake and had plenty of experience with water, the lake was still and easy; small and manageable, unlike the ocean. Going to the shore was an entirely different experience. We had a lot to learn.
Riptides
Since my parents couldn’t swim, going to a shore point with rough waves sent them into utter panic. They turned to my Uncle John, tasked with guarding us every year.
Uncle John was a great swimmer and our “funcle” so each of us kids hung on his every word. Sometimes, when he took us out past the waves, four of us hung on to him for dear life as we squealed with delight. When he had something serious to say, we were stopped in our tracks and listened with rapt attention.
Once every season, he would walk us down to the shoreline and give us what we called the riptide lecture.
“This is how a riptide works,” he would say as he drew arrows in the sand, showing the movement of the water. “ If you ever get caught in a riptide, it can carry you out in no time and I won’t be able to get to you right away, so you…
