Smooth Transition

I had a very good conversation with my father last night and he is such an intelligent person. I have always enjoyed talking politics with him and invariably he says something I had never thought about. This is exactly what happened last night as we spoke about the upcoming presidential election. I remember when I was much younger (like 8 years old) and a very big fan of Richard Nixon (yeah, I know it figures!!) while my father was on the other side of the political spectrum.

Somehow over the years I had leaned toward the Republican Party but something happened when I entered college and I have always tried to select the right person for the particular office no matter their political affiliation. This is a direct result of listening to my father over the years. I have not given my father enough credit and I know I screwed things up in our relationship over the last few years but thankfully through recovery I am recapturing a much better relationship with my father, thanks Dad!!

Yes, my father did say something very poignantly about the upcoming election and if I were voting and had been on the fence with my selection this would have swayed me very much. It swayed me even though I am not casting a vote tomorrow because it made so much sense not only the reason but the supporting facts as well. I am so happy I can have these discussions with my father because a little over three years ago communicating with my dad was difficult because of my transgressions but now this has changed, thankfully!!

The conversation also included that the children’s Christmas presents would be delivered this week and I thought “wow that seems kind of early” however; this is not unusual since my father’s wife celebrates Christmas with her family over the Thanksgiving Holiday which is at the end of this month. Yes, this year is flying by so quickly but a great year and it is wonderful to enjoy each and every day in the free world having exceptional conversations.

Normally on Sunday evenings I make it to the Gamblers Anonymous meeting but not last night. My son and I got home from the birthday party and my wife and daughter had gone out. My son had a friend with him for a play date and the time of the meeting had come and gone. My wife did her best to get home but it just wasn’t meant to be. This week due to the time change the games have been pushed up to 4:00 pm and it is dark by 5:15 pm so I could get to a meeting on either today or tomorrow. I have committed to one meeting per week and I want to go to a meeting this week so I will make it a priority to get to one of these meetings.

The work week started and it would be a very busy week. Today would be the day where the client was arriving from the “Intervention” program. This has been a long road for my company and I was very fortunate to place the telephone call that landed the account. Timing does have a great deal to do with it and I give all the credit to the two people who were working on it before I came on board. Now it was my responsibility to see it through and I was glued to my cell phone waiting for the confirmation that the intervention was successful. I was assured the percentages were in our favor since there were only 2 interventions that weren’t successful out of 110. That is a good percentage but I am not really into the “percentages” anymore and I was very optimistic all would go well. I did receive the telephone call that it did go well and the client was on the way.

I was at the gym this morning once again training for the marathon in January. The session went well and I do enjoy running tremendously. There is a euphoria that I seem to achieve after about 30 minutes of running and this lasts for the entire session. There is something to be said of working out and getting a good sweat going. I can’t think of a better way to start my day and it was a great day through and through. The day also brought a message from a very dear friend who informed me they would be coming out here for a visit so we can play some golf later this month. This is the same dear friend who visited me twice while I served my term and needless to say a very good dear friend. I am looking forward to that weekend and it does fall when the softball and baseball seasons end.

When I received the final confirmation telephone call I set out for the office to ensure the transition went smoothly. I could have gotten on camera and thusly on the program but I didn’t feel this was the right thing to do so I invited two people from the office to go out and greet the client. One was sort of reluctant and one was very eager. This was a good combination and seemed to work out for the very best. I spoke with the interventionist who informed me that the intervention went as well as could have been expected and now the challenge becomes keeping the client in treatment. I know firsthand how life changes for the better in recovery and hopefully the client does experience this.