I looked out at the rain falling on the opposite side of the window pane. Life is ironic, isn’t it? You get fired from your job and it starts to rain. Perfect. Anyways, now it’s got me thinking, “what am I to do with my life right now? What’s next?”. I get up and head to my son’s room. Maybe he’ll be of some inspiration to my now dull life. As I enter his room, I noticed something strange. He wasn’t there! Usually by this time of day, when he SHOULD be doing his homework, he’s playing his video games. This struck me as odd, but I didn’t think too much of it. I went back to my spot next to the window and pondered life some more. After about twenty or so prolonged minutes, my son comes through the basement door. “Strange”, I thought, “He’s usually never goes down there”. Again, I didn’t think too much of it. We exchanged a few words before he went upstairs to, to my assumption, play some video games. At this point, something very strange hits me. Not of his previous whereabouts, but something far more strange. It was a smell. A skunk? No, that isn’t likely. But then it hit me with a flashback to my college days. Marijuana. I got up immediately and went into the basement, thinking I’d find his stash or something of the like. To my surprise, I found that but ten times worse. Right under my nose, my son has been growing this illegal substance in our basement. As quickly as I could, I collected myself and presented my observation to him.

“Kyle, what the hell do you think you’re doing, messing around with this stuff! Not only is it bad for you, it is also very illegal! You could go to jail!” I was fuming.

Kyle responded, almost sounding remorseful. “Dad, you just don’t understand. Ever since mom passed, I’ve been so down in the dumps lately, I just needed a way to escape. With this I thought. What my son is doing is very illegal, which could put not only him in danger, but me. I was furious, don’t get me wrong, but I understood. His mother’s passing was a hard time for the both of us. Presently too, life is changing and for me. With the loss of my job and the discovery of my son’s new hobby, I’m at a fork in the road without a clue of where to go.