Unfortunate

Early this morning I received an email from the moderator/owner of the online compulsive gambler support group which I have been a member for the past five months. She was informing everyone in the group she was shutting down the support group effective immediately. I have met some wonderful people in this group all with the same problem; gambling had taken over their lives and now they are seeking help to reclaim their lives. The online group functioned like an ongoing GA meeting with everyone supporting everyone else to fight the gambling demons. People from as far away as Australia and the Netherlands were members in this group. I have made some friendships through this group and I will stay in contact with those great individuals.

The incredible lady who founded the group and did such a marvelous job running the site decided to end the support group today. No one seems to know exactly why but I hope she is alright. The last message was very warm but there obviously was something wrong. I wish her the best and want to thank her for helping me these past five months. I will miss her daily thoughts and sayings; everything through this group was truly inspirational.

"Well, instead of admitting my mistake and backing up, I just pushed ahead until I was so deep there was NO getting out", "And you lost the wagon", "Yes, but I learned a valuable lesson. If you find yourself on the wrong road, don't just keep on going until you're in over your head--back up and start over on the right road". Okay; who wrote this quote? Was it Steinbeck, Hemingway, Faulkner, Keats, Covey, Robbins, Grisham, or Coben???? Nope; Stan and Jan Berenstain of the The Berenstain Bears for Children!!! This is such great advice and as I was reading this to my daughter I thought how far off the road I had gone and sometimes people never back up they keep on going until it is too late. It is never too late and as the story goes on to say; "It is never too late to correct a mistake and get back on the right road". I have made a very large mistake but I am trying everything within my power to correct this mistake and get back on the right road.

I may have read this story to my daughter at least 35 times before but I never realized those words. Life is a little brighter when I have my ears and eyes open. It is amazing how much I continue to learn each and every day even from the simplest things.