Sunday, May 3, 2015

Reunions

Many of our clients express concerns about ever getting back with their families. In fact that may be their number one worry.

They've spent so many years using that everyone's cut them loose.

Some have gotten divorced. Others lost touch. Many have spent years in jail. Some were on skid row. Each story is different.

Yet, there's nothing as heartening as seeing a reunion.

A few years ago, one man - sober a while - showed me pictures of grandbabies from two daughters. He hadn't been in their lives for around 20 years. And now they wanted him to fly up and visit them. He had tears in his eyes as he told me.

I bring this up because I had a relative get in touch recently, someone I haven't seen in some 15 years - when she was in her early 20s. We were never close because her father and I had a strained relationship. But I know we wouldn't be in touch had I still been using. Now we're getting reacquainted.

My counsel to those in TLC is to be patient. Those who once loved us may be back. They probably never stopped loving us. But it became too painful for them to watch us killing ourselves.

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