Backslide

He says he understands my frustration. He needs help. But, what about me? I grew up in a far worse environment than he did--not saying my environment was one you'd call a made for tv movie, but it was not always fun. It was painful at times. And, I wouldn't call his childhood all roses either, but he was loved a ton. And he had something constant in his life. His grandparents.

We're doing what we always do before visitors come over. Last night he went out and bought more plastic containers so he can pile everything up in the backroom. Our room is filled to the brim with containers. "At least we have a bed", he says. We've had a bed before. "At least the containers are organized", but they have been organized before. Having items in containers is not organization. At least not the way we do it.

It's frustrating. We had a screaming match. He actually punched in a wall. The children were frightened. This is what they don't show you on those television shows. Hoarding is an illness that swallows up the soul of an entire family. When you take it away, it hurts. When you fight it, it hurts. And you have to be strong to push past it. I just hope we are strong enough.