after xmas

I hope you all got some of what you wanted from the great gift-giver and indulgence fairy of corporate sponsored desire. Part of my job is to clean up the mess; the ribbons, wrapping paper and emotional scars. To whit:

One of my clients got a divorce for Christmas. After the shock, she was kind of pleased. She is not leaving without the Escalade and boucoup dollars.

Another woman had a glass of holiday cheer. It was her first sip is four years. We just got her into detox today.

Another story was second hand. A client went to his parent's house for the holiday. After seven vodka drinks his sister stood up and pointed to the picture of their dead uncle and announced that he was the one who raped her when she was thirteen. That brought the caroling to a close.

One the positive side, S has remained sober for three weeks and smiled when his family drank and fought. D and L cooked for their parents for the first time and received some acknowledgment that they may really be adults. Mary went to church to gaze upon her favorite priest and the organist gave her a present and told her he would like to see her.

L said one of her energy bars is missing.

Life is complex. There are many forces, such as the wind and the tides, and our genetic make-up, that we have no control over. There are other parts of our lives, such as whom we choose to spend time with, and what we do during that time, that it feels like we can control. If we can't really control it, at least we have some in-put. It is my job to help people take advantage of that little bit of influence they have on making things happened the way they want to have them happen.

I hope you are doing that for yourself.