Another Milestone of Sorts

It has been a very nice week without the children. My wife got back from New Jersey this past Tuesday evening and it has been just the two of us this week. The children are being well taken care of in New Jersey by Grandma and company this week and will be back next week. They come back with Grandma and their cousin which starts off our visitors this month. Grandma stays for a week and the following week my brother-in-law and his family will arrive for a one week visit. This week could be considered the “calm before the storm” and in any event it has been a nice respite with just my wife. We have had a great weekend going out to dinner and seeing a very funny movie (The Hangover). Today my wife was kind enough to allow me to play golf with my friends who were visiting from Las Vegas and it is always good to see them.

Wow; what a difference three years makes; yes, it was three years ago today I was sentenced and to say that wasn’t such a good day would be a bit of an understatement. However; that was the beginning of the end and the start of a wonderful beginning. I had been dreading that day three years ago but when it happened I was certainly relieved because all the waiting and not knowing had come to an end. I could concentrate on my sentence which was in judicial terms four years which meant I would serve two years and if I made it to fire camp that sentenced would be reduced. I was fortunate enough to make to fire camp and I ended up serving 19 ½ months of those 24 months which was certainly blessing.

I have now been out a little over 16 months and my life is incredible. I have been bestowed with incredible blessings and I never have a right to complain about anything. I certainly chose not to complain about anything because my life is turning out the way it was intended. I did deviate from this wonderful life but thanks to recovery I am right back on track and this track is even more beautiful than it has ever been in my life. I was rejoined by my family just about one year ago and I have been fortunate enough to land a fantastic job in this dreadful economy. Yes, wow I am a very fortunate person in every way possible.

Life is moving along as well as possible and it would be a disservice not to mention more about recovery. I have a job that is all about recovery and although my position is not exactly recovery related I do understand recovery fairly well. This all stems from the Gamblers Anonymous Program and yesterday morning I spoke with a member who is new to the program and was struggling. We talked for awhile and I mentioned a few things and I was happy to hear, “You’re right” a few times during our conversation.

I don’t believe this was just lip service and I do hope this person did the things we spoke about. The furthest thing on my mind is placing a bet but this was one of the first things on this person’s mind. I utilized the tools in the program and reminded this person to “play the tape all the way through”. This is so important because I know there isn’t anything good that happens when I gamble. I had such a twisted mindset when I was gambling I often wonder how I functioned all those years. Yes, hopefully this member does play the tape all the way through and continues doing the things that has made them successful.

I needed this telephone call because I do need to be reminded where compulsive gambling can take me. There is no guarantee in life and the only thing I can do is stay mindful of doing the right things. This may seem over simplistic but keeping it simple does help me tremendously. I do the right things and the right things happen. I do the wrong things and the wrong things happen. Yes, that is a very simple choice and I cannot forget where I was three years ago to this very day. That was a journey and this journey continues in a much better manner.