Pulling the suck out of success

I ran into Mikey at gym that night and asked him about Chad.  The more we talked, the clearer it became living with his parents’ multiple addictions had filled Chad’s life with disappointment and uncertainty.  Being the hero child distracted his family from their up and down situation, and gave Chad some measure of control.

Mikey said, “That kid is wound so tight. Straight A’s. Has a black belt.  Plays the trumpet better than kids two grades ahead of him.   Betsy and that boob she married like to put Chad on display, like his success proves there’s nothing wrong with them. Neither one of them seem to notice the kid gets no joy from any of it.”   

I thought about all the accomplished adults I knew who had never learned to enjoy their successes.  Many of them ended up in the rehab, baffled at how they could meet challenge after challenge, but couldn’t stop drinking.

“You know what I’m gonna do?  I’m going to teach that kid to celebrate just a tiny bit every time he scores.  Maybe just a fist pump, or a little stutter step after he makes a layup, but something.”

“It’s a start,” Mikey said. “It’s a start.”

Today I will find the joy in the smallest successes.

Life on Life’s Terms II © 2015 by Ken Montrose

(Just a reminder: LOLT II is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to anyone you might know is purely coincidental.)

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The ebook version of Forgiveness in Recovery is available 3/16 through 3/20 at  http://www.amazon.com/Ken-Montrose/e/B001K8MG0S.