Attitude of Gratitude

It has been a good long while since I posted something 'round these parts. Work has been busy but thankfully another quarterly reporting cycle is coming to a close with the building still standing.

Although it is a few weeks away, I feel a profound sense of gratitude for my upcoming sobriety "birthday" on August 31st; I will have been sober for 8 years. I happened to be surfing through the channels before bed...for the most part, there really IS very little worth watching. I came upon a show called INTERVENTION - which documents the lives of various struggling addicts and their families who attempt to save them from themselves, with the guidance of a counselor. I could have been the subject of each and every episode, but for the grace of God expressing His love for me through the people in my life. I watched intently, empathizing with every slurred word, every vomitting session, every familial disappointment, every failure. I'd been there, and I don't ever have to be there again.

So, like an awards show, here is my "8th Annual Thank You" to the people who have made and continue to make my sobriety possible:

- My wife, Lori, who by all logic should have disappeared years ago due to my alcoholic rants and misadventures and yet remained at my side(she's already done her time in Purgatory, folks). She is the epitome of loving patience, and I thank God every day for her.
- My children, who remind me each and every day of the precious gifts of their growing up I'd be missing if I hadn't put the bottle down. From watching James go off the diving board, to teaching Patrick how to play chess, these daily miracles are things I wouldn't have wanted or cared about.
- My parents and sister, who had to endure my active disease from the beginning and never wrote me off or shut me out.
- My TRUE friends, who never pressured me to "just have one" after I got sober. Instead, they offered much appreciated support and admiration that I cherish every day.
- My beloved cat Archie, who kept me from falling so many times early on, when the insanity to drink was nearly unbearable...with a constant purr and complete understanding.
- Last and certainly not least, my friends in the Church Triumphant, especially Saint Francis of Assisi who has taught me humility, the importance of letting our Brother Jesus guide us through our lives and of the Sacrament that is my family.

Oh sure I could be jumping the gun here; I could go out on some bender between now and 8/31. It's not like I CAN'T drink. I CAN. I am an alcoholic. Therefore, I'm GOOD at drinking. The difference today is that I simply don't HAVE to anymore. And I thank God from the depths of my soul that I have that choice today.

Pax et Bonum,
Thomas

Daily Mass Readings
Memorial of St. John Vianney
Numbers 12:1-13
Psalm 51:3-7, 12-13
Matthew 14:22-36