Fawlty Showers 2

 

Time Off

The next day was a Friday. I took it off, giving myself a long weekend to celebrate my sobriety anniversary. Most years I planned to do so, but didn’t. That year I decided to practice what I so often preached, taking a little time for myself, time to stop and smell the coffee.

Today I’ll take some time for myself.

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible

Fawlty Showers 2

 

“Party like you’re 99!” 

(The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, sort of)

Dana poked her head in my office.

“Happy Sober anniversary,” she said. “What is this one, 65? 70? Guy as old as you must have a lot of years.”

“God willing I’ll have 34 years on Sunday,” I said.

“How will you celebrate?”

“Take a long weekend, ride my bike, have dinner with my family, maybe catch a movie.”

“That’s it? What did you do on the big ones, like when you hit thirty years?”

“Rode my bike, had dinner with my family, caught a movie.”

Dana gave me a disapproving look. 

“I celebrate my life a little each day. Don’t feel the need to go overboard on my anniversary.”

 

I’ll celebrate life at least a little today, and in the days to follow.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible

Fawlty Showers 2

 

Needed

My conversation with the young man, gave me an idea to update another poster.

I’d made a poster of a young mother holding a small child. The caption read: “Being there when they need you is one of Recovery’s greatest rewards.”

When I got back to my office, I got out a copy of that poster.  Turning it over, I printed a picture of a middle-age man holding the hand of an elderly woman in a wheelchair.  I used the same caption.

I smiled down at DD the Bunny. “It’s not only about recovery.  Any time Life allows you to be where you’re needed is a reward.” DD twitched his ears in agreement

 

Today I’ll be grateful if I can be where I’m needed.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible

Fawlty Showers 2

Strength and Wisdom

“My brother’s in recovery,” the young man said.  “He went through here. You gave him a poster.”

“Which one?” I asked.

“The one with the muscular guy holding the little boy.”

I nodded, and quoted the poster. “It takes true strength to put some things down, and wisdom to know what to pick up instead.”

“My brother has a little boy named Michael. He put down the bottle and picked up Michael.  I think that’s why he loves that poster.”

“Other than alcohol, what do you need to put down?” I asked.

The young man thought for a moment, looked both ways, sighed and said, “I’m angry with my dad for getting sick now, while I’m tryin’ to get sober.”

“What do you want to pick up instead?’

“Enjoying whatever time I get to spend with him.”

 

Today I hope for the strength put something down, wisdom in what I pick up instead.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible

 

Fawlty Showers 2

 

Nothin’ Doin’

That afternoon I sat down with a young man on the wall outside the dorm.

“You ever felt like you had to do something, but there was nothing to do?” he asked.

“I have,” I said.

“So, you’re frustrated, so you want to do something else?”

“Not sure where you’re going with this.”

He stared at his shoes. “My dad’s sick. Really sick.  I gotta do something, but there’s nothing I can do, so I want to get drunk. I feel like such a loser. It’s the last thing he’d want.”

I shook my head. “You’re not a loser. In fact, I think you should pat yourself on the back for doing nothing so far. Sometimes that’s the hardest thing to do.”

 

Today I know nothing can be the hardest thing to do.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossi

Fawlty Showers 2

 

Guardrails

The next morning I presented at a conference.  Someone asked me about helping people put the past in perspective.

I said, “I think of the past as a guardrail.  I’m aware it’s there. It reminds me of the pain, and warns me of danger.”

“That sounds a little depressing,” the person said.

“Not at all. I still get to enjoy the scenery. I move at my own pace, and I like the places I’ve gone. I love the people on this journey with me.”

 

Today I’ll treat the past like a guardrail.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible

Fawlty Showers 2

 

Missed

On the way home, I started thinking of the people who were gone.  I thought about what I missed.

 My father was the kindest man I ever met.  My mother could be honest, brutally honest even, but if you earned a compliment from her, it was heartfelt, and stayed with you. My Aunt Ruth had a great sense of humor, and shared my love of bad puns. 

I made a mental list of what I missed about them and others.

I turned to the dog, “The best I can do is try to live the best of everyone I miss.”

 

Today I’ll live the good I’ve learned from people I miss.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible

Fawlty Showers 2

 

Sad and Grateful

As we were leaving, and out of the blue, Margaret the Newbie said, “I miss Stanley.”

Epiphany cackled. “The first time I met Stanley he shook my hand and told me not to get my hopes up, he was too old for me.  He was always telling me to drive safely on the way home.”

Margaret laughed.  “He would take a jab at you, and in the next breath ask if you were OK.”

“Sucks missing someone,” Epiphany said. “Can’t do anything about it.”

I shrugged. “If you never missed anyone, it would mean there was never someone in your life you cared about.”

“You miss him too, don’t you?” Margaret asked.

“I do,” I said. “I’m sad and grateful at the same time.”

 

Today I’ll be grateful for people I cared enough about to miss.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible

Fawlty Showers 2

 

Bring It

The speaker that night was the most upbeat person I’d ever heard at an AA meeting.  Her name was Elaine and she’d had a terrible childhood, married an idiot, and survived a car crash.

“Surviving the wreck started the ball rolling,” she said. “I got rid of the booze and the drooling moron I married.  As much as I could, I let go of the past.”

She went on to say she made it a point to enjoy every minute of every day.  She tried to share that enthusiasm with as many people as she could.

“People seem so down,” she said. “They’re glued to bad news streaming on their phones and TVs.  I got sober for me, but I love to bring a little bit of energy, a little bit of fun into other people’s lives.”

 

Today I’ll try to bring a little fun and enthusiasm to the world.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible

Fawlty Showers 2

 

The Next Right Thing

“The Preacher’s annoying,” Epiphany Chaser said, “but he’s not a bad guy.  He’s just not able to see how self-centered he is. He only sees his side of an issue.”

Margaret snorted. “We should kick him every time he says or does something that shows he can’t see the other person’s point of view.”

Epiphany said, “I like it! Or, we could all carry tasers, and shock him every time he complains about child support. If he can’t see his kid needs his help, well then maybe he deserves a little jolt.”

 “Or we could try to set a good example. Do the next right thing for someone else.  Maybe someday The Preacher will follow suit.”

“I’d still rather taser him,” Epiphany said. “But we’ll do it your way.”

 

Today I’ll do the next right thing for someone else.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

Fawlty Showers 2

Open Your Eyes

A month later The Preacher was released from jail.  When I had talked to him in jail, I had thought he was a changed man.  At the next AA meeting I discovered I was wrong.

He agreed he should have been paying child support, but went on and on about how much, and why he didn’t deserve to go to jail.

“He hasn’t learned his lesson, has he?” Epiphany asked, knowing the answer.

“Not really,” Margaret The Newbie said. “For about a minute he seemed to get it, but now that he’s out of jail…”

I finished her thought, “…he’s forgotten whatever lesson he learned.”

There had been times in my life when I hadn’t seen what life was trying to teach me. It took me years to realize I wasn’t a social drinker.

Other times I had opened my eyes, seeing what I needed to know going forward. (Never ever imply the pregnant woman’s anger is more due to her hormones than your behavior.)  Life got better with each lesson learned.

 

Today I’ll open my eyes to whatever life is trying to teach me.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

Fawlty Showers 2

 

Managing Imagination

I told the man our door was always open and wished him well.

As I stroked DD the Bunny, I thought about how the rewards of recovery played out for me.

I said, “When I first started drinking I couldn’t have imagined how unmanageable life would become.  My first year of sobriety was manageable, but not easy.”

DD scratched his nose with his paw, his signal for me to go on.

“Now my life is better than I imagined it could be.  From unimaginably unmanageable, to manageable, to better than I imagined – gotta keep doing the things that got me here.”

 

Today I’ll do the things that changed my life from unimaginably unmanageable to manageable to better than I had imagined.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible

Fawlty Showers 2

 

For Better or Worse

Two hours later the same man called back. He was sorry he yelled, but he couldn’t bring himself to sign into treatment.

“I know I have a problem,” he said, “but giving up alcohol seems a little extreme, don’t you think?”

I said, “If you’re smart you don’t give up alcohol and other drugs, you replace them with every other healthy thing you like.”

“Ok, maybe.”

“Giving up alcohol is just giving up alcohol.  The sacrifice remains the same day to day, but either the rewards get better or the consequences get worse.”

“How?” 

“If you never drink again you’ll notice life gets better, you get better at managing life. Get another couple of DUIs and you could wind up jail. Kill somebody driving drunk and you could stay in jail a long time.”

 

Today I’ll remember the sacrifice is the same, but the rewards and consequences change.

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

Fawlty Showers 2

Try

I got to work the next morning just in time to answer the first call.  The caller wanted to know if he could do his court-mandated rehab as a home-study course. 

I told him no, not at our facility. He wasn’t pleased.

I sucked. The rehab sucked. The police sucked. His lawyer sucked. The judge sucked.

Apparently, the Honda Motor Corporation sucked for not including a DUI checkpoint warning system in Civics.

He hung up. My mind wandered. I picked up DD the bunny and put him on my lap.

I laughed. “Maybe I do suck at some things,” I said. “But I try not to when it comes to the important stuff, like family, work, and sobriety.”

DD looked up at me, a question in his eyes.

“Oh, golf. I suck at golf. I golf almost as well as otters fly. Dancing, singing, and math – add those to the list.”

I stroked his back.

“But I really try hard not to suck at the important stuff, and that’s what matters most.”

 

Today I’ll try not to suck at anything important.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

Fawlty Showers 2

Right Here

Dr. Deb came and sat down beside me. I showed her the email. “I won’t be able to put together something in time,” I said.

“Where is the conference?” she asked.

“Upstate New York in the fall. Would have been beautiful. I could have asked to speak on a Friday. We could have made a weekend out of it.”

“Remember way back when we’d get a bucket of chicken and have a rainy-day picnic on the basement floor?” she asked.

I got her point. When the weather was lousy and we were broke, we hadn’t needed to go anywhere.  We found joy right where we were.

I thought how addictive thinking wasn’t limited to addicted people. Human nature sent us scurrying for the next big thing, overlooking the little joys close at hand.

“Circle the date,” I said, pointing to the date of conference on my laptop. “I’m buying you a bucket of chicken and maybe even an extra side dish.”

She laughed. “Eat two thirds of the dessert this time and see what happens to you…”

 

Today I won’t overlook the little joys right where I am.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible

 

Fawlty Showers 2

 

Mountains and Molehills

When I got home I opened my laptop to check my email. The first message I saw was from a conference organizer reminding potential speakers their applications were due in a week.

“Damn,” I said to the dog. “I’ll never have something ready by then.”

I immediately started beating myself up over it. The conference was in another state, and offered a chance to speak to a new audience.

The dog yawned. I took a deep breath.  I hadn’t had time to work on the application because I had been working on much more important projects closer to home.  The conference was an annual event. I could apply next year.

“It’s a molehill,” I said.

The dog looked at me quizzically.

I scratched her ears and quoted one of my favorite sayings, “Ulcers come from mountain climbing molehills.”

 

Today I’ll remember ulcers come from mountain climbing molehills.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible

Fawlty Showers 2

Wake Up Calls

I stopped at The Preacher’s house on the way home to water his plants.

Jail becomes a habit for a lot of people, but I had a feeling The Preacher wasn’t going to be one of them.

His second divorce had awoken him to the fact he had to quit drinking. Being locked up seemed likely wake him up to the idea child support wasn’t optional.

I had never been grateful for my wake-up calls when they happened.  Looking back, I could see how I had been lucky to wake up before things got worse.

 

Today I’ll try to be grateful for my wakeup call.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible
 

Fawlty Showers 2

Good for You!

Randy walked into my office to tell me he was being transferred to the corporate headquarters.

“You’re the boss,” I whined. “They can’t do that.”

Randy said, “I was the boss before the merger. Now I’m an administrator.”

Abigail died, Talmadge moved, and now Randy was being transferred. I wasn’t happy about it.

“You sure you want to go? Can you turn them down?”

“I’m getting a company car, the option of working from home three days a week, and a 50% raise over what I pay myself now.”

“Wow. Who could turn that down?”

After Randy left, I still felt a little selfish sadness, but I said to DD the Bunny, “Got to be happy for Randy. He deserves it.”

That afternoon I found the more I focused on Randy’s good fortune, the happier I was.

 

Today I’ll try to be happy for someone else.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible
 

Fawlty Showers 2

 

Bad, Good, Great

Dana handed me Baby Kara.  “Gotta get some charting done.”

I rubbed noses with Kara. She smiled, made a little gurgling noise, and threw up on me. Again.

“Oh no,” her mother said. Katy laughed and added, “I swear she’s allergic to you.”

Later that day Baby Kara slept on my shoulder while Katy was in a meeting.  I looked at the nasty stain on my right shoulder and her innocent face on my left.

“Kid, you gotta take the bad with the good,” I said. Kara turned her head away.

I smiled. “Like it or not, in relationships, work, business, and especially recovery, you have to take the bad with the good, put in the work to get the reward.”

Kara turned her head back around, opened her eyes, and smiled.  My heart melted.

“But if you get past the bad, the good can be great.”

 

Today I’ll take the bad to get to the great.

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible

Fawlty Showers 2

 

Chances Are

When I got to work the next day, Dana was standing in front of Katy’s desk cradling Baby Kara in one arm.

“The Princess has a new boyfriend. Yes she does. Yes she does,” Dana said in a singsong voice.

Baby Kara smiled and cooed.

“Her mommy is going to run him over in her car. Yes she is. Yes she is.”

“Dana,” I said, “Isn’t our job to get people to give new things a chance? Things like sobriety, exercise, a healthy diet, maybe mindfulness?  Don’t you think you should give this boy a chance?”

“No, you’re right,” Dana said. “He deserves a chance. He could be a good for her, and if you never give someone or something a chance you’ll never know.”

Dana walked two fingers across Baby Kara’s belly. “But, if he turns out to be a dipstick, beep, beep! New boy got run over, yes he did, yes he did!”

 

Today I’ll give something new a chance.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible

Fawlty Showers 2

 

Time Out

Two weeks later we said goodbye to Talmadge.

“What would Stanley say?” I asked as we stood outside the church after our meeting.

Talmadge snorted. “He’d call me a chocolate marshmallow, say I was safe from the alligators ‘cause they don’t eat anything as bitter as me, and my wife was going to miss him.”

 “That’s it exactly.”

We laughed. Sadness and gratitude washed over me. 

The time we spend with people is always limited, the best we can do is spend it wisely and be grateful we had it.

“Gotta remind ourselves relationships are time-limited, and make the most of that time,” I muttered.

Talmadge laughed again. “Not gonna miss you talking to yourself.”

 

Today I’ll remember relationships are time limited.

 

Fawlty Showers 2 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.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

 

#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible