Player of the Game!

“The days and weeks will pass soon enough” is a part of a salvo in the Combo book of the Gamblers Anonymous Program and the second part of it states life will get better and I can say from experience this is absolutely true. Life does get better and better each day in recovery and even the most ordinary day is made extraordinary in recovery. I can’t help but to compare my life prior to recovery to my life now in recovery. I may have had external happiness but internally I was a mess. Thankfully this mess is gone and attending the GA meeting last night is part of why I am grounded in peace and serenity. Sure I have gone through a great deal in the past three plus years but over the last 8 months as I have reentered society life is exactly as it is intended all due to recovery.

It would be great if the new members see how their lives can change upon entering and embracing the program but for most this does take time. This is where the passage of being patient is so hopefully. One of the steps states that no major changes (other than abstaining from gambling) take place in the first two years of recovery. I was not afforded this luxury because my life was turned inside out in those first two years. I lost many material items but the most “material” items I did not lose which is all due to being in recovery. I lost my career, house, car, money and freedom; however; life is wonderful as I move in a positive manner. This positive manner is part intention, purpose and wonderment. All this leads to good and thankfully this is what my life is all about.

This morning I was back in the gym after taking the last two days off. Yes, I ran 26.2 miles on Sunday and I could certainly justify taking this week off but that wouldn’t be me. I guess I could categorize my affinity to exercise as an addiction but I like to look at it as a good habit. I didn’t want to run today and I probably won’t run at all this week but that won’t keep me from the gym and I did make my way in this morning. I went through a very good core, chest, and aerobic workout. My aerobics only consisted of 30 minutes on the recumbent bicycle to get the lactic acid out of my legs.

I have to marvel at the fact that on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday I had a difficult time walking down the stairs but this morning I didn’t have any problems. This was made even better by riding the cycle for the 30 minutes clearing out any residue in my legs. I’m not sure how this happened so fast but it is just like back in June when I ran my last marathon. The soreness did not last very long and in my sick twisted mind I actually like the soreness. This means (to me) that I have actually accomplished something;( not that finishing a marathon isn’t something the soreness is like the “icing on the cake)!!

This was a wonderful way to start the day and I was well on my way to running another marathon. Somewhere in the future I will start training for a triathlon and again in my sick twisted mind I would love to complete an Ironman Triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 122 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run all in the same day in the heat of the Big Island of Hawaii) but that is my ego talking. I will take it one day at a time which is the best way to take life and really any other task. Also; my daughter took the medal I received from the marathon into class today as her “show and tell”. She was very proud of her dad and couldn’t wait to show the medal to her class. This was wonderful to see and I do remember two years ago when she did something similar in her second grade class and I became known as my daughter’s marathon running dad!!!

This evening my son had a baseball game and he did great. He is really improving in all parts of the game. He struck out his first at bat but followed that with three consecutive hits. He made another great play as the catcher pouncing on a pop-up and throwing the player out at first. His team lost for the first time all season 14-13 falling short in the last inning but my son received the game ball for his stellar play. He did play great and his attitude is so consistent whether he gets a hit or not; he is having a great time and I love him so much!!!