Pay it forward

One night this week, I volunteered to assist at a Holiday celebration hosted by a local organization that helped me get back on my feet with finding a job. I have done some volunteer work for them in the past (but it's been a while), so when I saw the invitation to help, I said "yes", although I didn't know any details. As it turns out, this was a Holiday party for primarily single-parent families who are in transitional sober housing, or are getting program support for domestic abuse, dual-diagnosis, etc. Despite not having any experience with these recovery-specific services offered by this organization, I was grateful for the chance to give back for the invaluable job-placement assistance they provided me.

I came over straight from work, and the shindig was in full swing - Santa was there for the kids, there was a cookie 'decorating' area, a crafts area, karaoke available for Holiday songs, bingo, and other activities. Since I wasn't a regular face in these other programs, I had several people approach me and ask who I was, why I was there, etc. I enjoyed talking with everyone I had the opportunity to. Most were surprised to learn that I was in recovery myself: "But you don't look like it!" was something I heard more than once - haha! if only they'd seen me 1.5 years ago! It ended up being a wonderful 12th Step opportunity - I shared pertinent parts of my recovery journey with people, and I hope it benefited them as much as it did me.

One adolescent boy timidly approached me as I was watching a group play bingo (as sugared-up tots excitedly darted to-and-fro with their decorative craft-project paper reindeer antlers swinging wildly), looked me over, and said "You must think we're all crazy." I laughed and said, "Oh, not at all... In fact, if anyone here is crazy, it's me -- heck, I even still have my locked-up-in-the-psych-ward paperwork to prove it!". We ended up having a great talk about where he was at, what options were available to him, etc. When he had to leave, he said "Thank you", and the sincerity of it made my day.

I left that night very grateful - grateful for the miracle that is the 12-Step program of AA, grateful to all of the amazing people who have supported me in my recovery journey, and grateful for the gift of unexpected opportunities to pay it forward.

A work in progress...
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Now playing: social distortion - story of my life