Summer with the Slug Rats

Uphill Climb

When I got to work the next day, several familiar faces passed by my door on the way to the group room.  Two or three had gotten clean last year and relapsed during the pandemic. I poked my head in to see how they were doing.

“It’s easier and it’s harder this time,” an older man named Reggie told me. “I know what to do, but the drinking has momentum of its own. I feel like a little kid laughing as he rolls downhill toward a swamp.”

 A young woman named Terri said, “Each time I text my ex, it gets harder not get back together. I know he’s a swamp, but putting up with the loneliness is my uphill battle.”

“I hear you,” I said. “Any change can be an uphill battle. But, I promise you, you’ll get to a level spot eventually. You’ll be stronger from the effort. You’ll look for new mountains.”

Today I’ll climb the mountain.

Summer with the Slug Rats © 2020 by Ken Montrose

Summer with the Slug Rats 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 https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/