Twas the Day Before Christmas

Twas the day before Christmas and it all started out the same way all of my Saturdays have started out in the past nine and half months with the Saturday Morning Gamblers Anonymous Meeting. Being the day before Christmas I did not expect many people to attend; however; much to my surprise we had a full room (notice how I didn't write full "house" bad connotation to compulsive gamblers!!). There were some veterans and some rookies in the room but we all have the same commitment which is to stop gambling. One newer member surprised everyone and hopefully this member will keep coming back because the Program certainly does work if you work the Program.

There was a lot of recovery in that room this morning and I am honored to be a part of it. I have written this before and I will continue to write it; I don't know where I would be had it not been for this Program. This Program has some unbelievable people and their support is beyond phenomenal. I thank each and everyone of them for their commitment to the Program without them and the Program I would have been truly lost.

One of the members gave me an article from yesterday's USA Today where I was quoted. I know my Dad is not going to like this but I did speak with a reporter from USA Today earlier in the week and I gave her the Reader's Digest version of my story (after all it was the USA TODAY) and she printed one line from our 13 minute conversation. For those of you interested in the story which is about young people playing poker you can access it here. Well at least she sort of spelled my name correctly! Seriously, compulsive gambling is a serious matter and for some there are (like myself) dire consequences.

It is good to see the media covering the other side of the online poker craze and the outbreak of poker on college campuses. It really does take one episode such as the student from Lehigh University who robbed a bank to payoff his online poker debts to raise the level of awareness on this particular issue. Unfortunately it takes bad examples to get the notice but at least there is coverage on what can happen if you let gambling take control of your life.

After the meeting I went for a run and it also amazes me that I could run 26 miles three weeks ago and still struggle through a 9 mile workout. My training did not end with the Las Vegas Marathon it is a part of my daily exercise ritual; however; there is a sense of post marathon depression (if you will) since the marathon and my runs in the past three weeks have not been that great. At least I am keeping up with my exercise routine and I can tell when stress creeps back into my life on a very high level (like earlier this week) because my workouts are much tougher.

I will continue doing what I am doing and I will get through this one day at a time. This is my key to getting my life back. I know I have a long road ahead of me but much like the marathon it can only be accomplished one step at a time. However; fighting my compulsive gambling addiction does not have a finish line and it is a daily activity to continue doing the right things. These right things were very good today; I attended a GA meeting, ran, went to Church, had a wonderful evening with family and friends and most importantly DID NOT GAMBLE.

This evening we had the pleasure of spending Christmas Eve with dear friends of ours. It was a great evening; the food was fantastic and most importantly the people were super. Yes, this Christmas Eve is very different from the past Christmas Eves but we are together as a family and this is what matters most. As long as we are together as a family it doesn't matter where we spend Christmas Eve because the spirit of Christmas is family and friends. I had the best of both worlds this evening and I am truly blessed to be in the company of my family and our dear friends.