Friends, Friends and FRIENDS!!!

It is truly so comfortable here at my sister’s house and is such a wonderful way to continue our trip home. My sister has made an incredible home for her family and now she is opening that home for our family. The area she lives in so nice, pristine, and yes, again comfortable. I have not visited her in the winter but I can imagine how several inches of snow would add to the serenity of the area. That is what is comes down to for me is the serenity, peace and tranquility. Two years ago as we headed east and stopped at my sister’s house I had small pieces of these things and building on what I continue to learn in recovery.

Now two years later the serenity, peace and tranquility continue to grow inside and outside of me, being reunited with my family completes me in every way. Without my family I am nothing just as without recovery my life is nothing. There is something in both I need to be very mindful of as I go forward in life. I need and want both in my life and with both in my life everything is truly working out for the very best.

Today we arose as a family with the exception of my 10 year old daughter who values her sleep as she approaches her teenage years. I was able to get in a workout without disrupting the morning activities. I went to a local health club where I got in some “altitude training”. My sister’s community rests at almost 6,000 feet above sea level and I have read many training articles about training at altitude.

Many of the elite runners and athletes train at altitude and my little 8 mile run may not qualify as altitude training but I could feel a difference in my run. I was much more winded earlier in the run than normal; however; me being me pushed through this and completed the run. I did notice a difference after the run as I needed much more water since my head was started to ache. Anyhow my little “altitude” training was a very good way to start the day.

My sister continued her incredible visit plans with a trip to her local community’s recreation center. I must say that her community seems to take the master plan community to another level. We have lived in master planned community in the past and these communities do have very good amenities for the residents, however; compared to my sister’s community these amenities pale in comparison. Her community has four recreation centers all with indoor and outdoor pools. The recreation center we attended today was a huge hit with our children. The indoor pool was complete with a great kids’ play area along with a “lazy river” and other wonderful activities. Our children were very impressed as was I with the facility.

We had a grand time at the recreation center and were yet another great component of our visit with my sister and her family. The afternoon came and it was time for the children to relax and for my wife and I to get ready for a very special dinner. We were meeting three very special people in my life for dinner. As fate works my sponsor and his wife along with another very special friend in Gamblers Anonymous have all moved to Colorado. I wanted to see them on this trip because it had been awhile since I last saw them.

We were to meet about 20 minutes away from my sister’s house and about 45 minutes where they reside in Colorado. My wife and I departed my sister’s knowing full well our children were in great hands with my sister and her family. We made the short drive and waited for our dear friends to arrive. Our dear friends arrived right on time through some very stormy skies. The skies may have been stormy but there was nothing but warmth as we greeted one another. These are fantastic people and all three of them are instrumental in my recovery. My dear friend transcribed my “chicken scratch” for over a year as I wrote this blog from prison and not only that this person has become a very dear friend in so many ways.

My sponsor was at my very first GA meeting over 3 years ago and is a huge part of my recovery. My sponsor sat in the courtroom when I was first arrested and has gone out of his way for me. We shared incredible letters through my prison experience and always looked forward to the weekly missives. All three of them were a wonderful sight for me and my wife. We had an incredible two hours talking about a myriad of topics most of which were recovery related.

My dear friend kept saying, “I can’t believe we are all here together”. Life is an amazing journey and over three years ago when this strange wonderful journey started I didn’t know any of these people which I shared a wonderful evening with tonight and now these three plus years later my life is so much better because of these people. It was wonderful seeing my sponsor in person and the last time we visited was behind plexi-glass as I sat in the county jail waiting for my prison experience to start. Now we sat across the table from one another much like we did at my first GA meeting. It was wonderful to hug each of them and feel all of the love that emanates from these incredible people.

The wonderful dinner and our special visit came to an end. We all had smiles on our faces as we hug one another as we departed. This was a wonderful evening and it was so great to see our dear friends. These are dear friends and friends I continue to learn so much from. Each of them embodies the spirit of the Gamblers Anonymous program which is people helping people and these people continue to help me and now they are dear friends. Wow what a perfect evening!!!!