Wednesday
September 24, 2014

Life on Life's Terms

Safe and Sound

That day I worked late, and hit the gym on my way home.  When I got home, my Dad was sitting in his favorite armchair, his eyes closed.  Our dog was sleeping on the adjacent couch, lying on her back with her paws in the air. 

My son was sitting up in bed.  Earlier he had gone to track practice after school, ridden the activity bus home, eaten a quick dinner, and caught a ride to AAU basketball. 

"Watch some TV with me?" he asked.  I told him I would after I said hello to his mother and sister.  "Okay.  Could you turn the light off?"  I knew he'd be asleep by the time I got back to his room.

My wife and daughter were curled up together, reading. 

"You're on my bed," I said to my daughter, bending down to kiss her.

"Whatcha gonna do about it, tough guy?" she asked with sly smirk.

"I'm gonna kiss your mother," I said. "Then I'm gonna drag you out of that bed and make you sleep in the yard," I said, laughing. "That's what I'm gonna do."

"OK, I'll go to my room, but only 'cause I'd hate to hurt an old man like you."  But rather than getting up, she moved closer to my wife.

I thought about the families with an addicted loved one who didn't know where he or she might be that night.  I could only imagine the strain of having a loved one serving overseas in the military, or working the night shift in law enforcement.

Today I will be grateful for knowing my loved ones are safe and secure, and for all the unseen thousands who made that possible.  I will do whatever I can to help families of the addicted find that same peace of mind.

Life's Terms © 2014 by Ken Montrose

Upcoming  Trainings

Standing on the Same Step (stages of recovery)
October 1, 2014 at Kerr Presbyterian Church in Verona
9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m
$50 payable in advance, at the door, or by invoice after the training

This five hour training is accredited for:

• Addiction Counselors by the Pa. Certification Board
• Nurses by the PSNA #101-1-O-14
• Counselors by NAADAC #477 and NBCC #6352
• EAPs by the Employee Assistance Certification Commission
• Social Workers by the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work.

To register, please visit our website greenbriartraining.com or send an email to: kmontrose@greenbriar.net

Other Blogs

AArdvarks, a daily messages blog about a group of young people in recovery, can be found at: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/7053374-better-you-than-me.

Smart Bears, Angry Rats

Bad Luck     150 Years later

Somewhere north of the Canadian Border, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police patrol found what was left of Jeremiah.  The first Mountie thought the American had been very unlucky to encounter a bear so close to the U.S. base.  "He only needed to go two miles to the border and another mile to his base. Bad luck getting eaten so close to safety."

His partner looked a little closer.  "He was walking away from his base – probably going AWOL. Look at how the blood is already frozen.  This happened hours ago, which means he sneaked away in the middle of the night.  I can smell alcohol on what's left of his jacket."  The second Mountie began scouring the ground in ever widening circles until he found what he was looking for.  "He forgot to load his pistol.  Probably too drunk."

"Still seems like bad luck, encountering a bear like that," the first Mountie said.

"I think he created his own bad luck," his colleague said.

Today I will take stock of how many times I created my own bad luck.

Smart Bears, Angry Rats © 2014 by Ken Montrose