69. “It’s hard to accept good help these days.”

Norman and I had a long talk about getting help.  I told him the hardest thing for me was accepting help. 

I said, “Being self-sufficient feels great.  Running feels great. But, when I tore my meniscus, I got medical help until I could run again. I didn’t try to fix it on my own.”

“And you learned to accept help in other parts of your life,” Norman guessed.

“No,” I said, “I went right back to not asking for help unless I was completely overwhelmed. It’s still a struggle for me to admit I can’t do something on my own.”

“I have no idea what you’re trying to say,” Norman said, smiling.  “No wonder you don’t have your own clients.”

I laughed. “I’m saying people helping you probably struggle with some issue of their own.  Accept their help, they understand your troubles. And, accept that accepting help is difficult for some of us.”  

Today I will accept help if I need it.

Sober Not Somber © 2015, 2016 by Ken Montrose

(Just a reminder: Sober Not Somber is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to anyone you might know is purely coincidental.)