So I had an awesome weekend. I did some side work on Saturday with a good friend of mine, Joe. We did clean up at a very private school’s country fair. Now when I say private, I really mean PRIVATE! And when I say PRIVATE, I really mean EXPENSIVE! This school was up on Mulholland Drive, just above the Getty Center, and all the people attending this school’s annual country fair appeared to have 7-figure incomes. Now, I’ve been to a few school fairs in my days, but I have to say that I’ve never been to a fair where there was an In-n-Out truck fully paid for by a single family! Yeah, this fair was off the hook – there was a Jamba Juice booth, a crepes truck, and a Cinna-bon booth! I think this school fair would give the county one a good run for its money!
So why am I telling you about this? I overheard a man talking as we were both waiting in line at the In-n-Out truck, and by the sound of this guy’s conversation, he is a big player in the real estate game. Now this guy was complaining about being at his kid’s school because he was in the middle of some big deal, and the look he gave his kid when the little boy ran up to ask him for some tickets was pure contempt and frustration. This tripped me out because I remember a time when I was sitting in a cell in some prison, just wishing that I could be ANYWHERE with my kids, and here was this guy, living up in the hills, obviously not hurting for money, I’m sure he drove some kind of German vehicle to that fair, he was with his kid, and yet he was miserable. And here I am, broke, driving a 13-year old mini-van, living with my daughters at my parents’ house, yet I’ve never been happier in my life. I’m alive, I’m clean, and I’m free…those are three things that all throughout my active addiction I swore I would not be at the age of 37. I always felt that if I wasn’t dead I would be either getting loaded or in prison for getting loaded.
Recovery has given me the priceless gift of gratitude. Today I am grateful for the life I live and no amount of money could have ever given me that.
