The next day I was staring at my laptop when a petite woman in her late twenties knocked on my open door. I stood, but didn’t stand shake her hand. We smiled and waved at each other even though she stood less than ten feet away. I motioned for her to sit in the chair closest to the door.
Without makeup, her hair pulled in ponytail sticking out the back of her cap, wearing a sweatshirt that hung to her knees, and baggy jeans, she would still turn heads wherever she went.
“Good to see you Anna,” I said.
“I saw Cindy and the other Ken on the way in,” Anna said, smiling. She held out her hands, palms down for me to see. “Getting better. I just wish it all worked faster.” When I had first met Anna she washed her hands so frequently her knuckles bled. They weren’t even cracked that day.
Anna had thought when she got sober, her other problems would fall away. Almost a year into her recovery, she still struggled with anxiety and OCD. She was getting better, but slowly. Every now and then, she stopped by my office to hear how impatient and I had been about the slow pace of recovery.
“Believe me,” I said, “People wish diets worked faster, cigarette cravings went away sooner, broken hearts healed quicker. It’s human nature to want things to get better much faster than they got bad.”
“I know the slogan you’re gonna quote. Time takes time.”
Today I will try to be patient: time takes time.
Time for a Change ©2017 by Ken Montrose
Time for a Change is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.
Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com
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