Sometimes You're a Bridge to Somewhere

So, I have been friends with someone for, geez, 2 years next month & I've pushed, pulled & pursuaded her from what seems like one life to another, from living as others want her to to how she wants to, sort of. There are tremendous good things there like standing up for herself even when it hurts others, not caring what others think of her, gaining self-esteem and the list goes on...then there's the addiction thing.

Sometimes you go from crack to meth or from cigarettes to alcohol or eating to shopping. Well, she's conquered a lot but the attention addiction. Well, it's been about 3 weeks since I've said word one to her. I am fairly confident that I'm a reason. I am not a lifetime friend. Sometimes you're not a lifetime friend, you're a bridge. You convince someone to take a step they desperately need to take while promising you will be right there with them when they freak out and wanna go back. And then you follow through and are there for them, regardless. You scream, you holler, you pat the back, you praise and you get them to where they need to be.

She is one of those people who, bless her heart, is an attention whore. She's got attention from here to there and back again and has not noticed that I have commented on absolutely nothing on her blog for weeks. It doesn't appear to bother her as her new life, the new attention, the whole bit is filling every moment not occupied by real life as mom, wife, etc.

It is not that I don't feel appreciated; sometimes God has you do things for a bigger reason. You fulfill the reason, you build the bridge, you part the sea and then, your job done, you go on to do another good deed.

She reminds me of a friend of mine, years ago, who really was an addict. She had worked for me at one point but got fired because she missed bout a week of work due to being in a crack house or someplace in Boston high as a kite or passed out. Well, months later, when nobody could find her, a hunch led me to find her and I'm standing in some place, some setting so totally foreign to me, it was like 'ok, so how the hell do I do this?' Long story short, I got her out of there with the help of an angel and, though she's no longer here, at least at that time, in that place, I was able to do something bigger than myself, able to help her conquer an addiction, at least for a time. Fast-forward back to this case, I do not believe this time, this place, it is mine to fix. This time it is not up to me. When I said I was done, I believe I actually meant it.