Monday
October 20, 2014

Life on Life's Terms

Grace

That weekend my wife and I went to Tiffany's wedding.  Sitting in the very back of the church was a handsome blond man in khakis and a golf shirt.  Her bully of an older brother, Evan, had apparently come to the wedding to scowl at the proceedings. 

As Tiffany walked down the aisle after the ceremony, she pulled a rose from her bouquet and handed it to him.  He looked stunned.  She just smiled. 

Today I will try to meet hostility with grace.

Life on Life's Terms  (c) 2014 by Ken Montrose

Upcoming Trainings

Medications and Twelve Step Recovery
October 22, 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/7206057-freedom

RPG

Obstacle course

After group I told Tony it was time to clean out his car. "We need to dump the vodka and whatever else you have in there."

"I've had that bottle since I got out of inpatient.  I haven't opened it.  I just keep it in case of emergency."

"It's gotta go.  The closer at hand you have your booze, the less of an impulse it takes for you to relapse."

"So you dump the vodka," he said.  "I'll probably just buy more."

"You might," I said.  "Dumping your vodka serves two purposes.  First, it's symbolic.  We're getting your car clean, even if you're not.  Second, we're putting up a small barrier to relapse. If you want more vodka, you'll have to drive to the liquor store and spend money.  Not much of a barrier, I know, but right now it's the best we can do.  I'm hoping we start putting more and more obstacles in your way."

Tony laughed.  "Do I have to send my car to Automobiles Anonymous?"

Today I will put up barriers to whatever bad habits I might have.

RPG: Relapse Prevention Group © 2014 by Ken Montrose