Blagging...

There's terrific news on my home front as I found out last Friday that I have been given an Adjunct Professorship at the Minneapolis Community & Technical College. I thought I'd do a little bragging on my blog (blagging as my friend George coined it) to celebrate.

"Who'd a thunk it!" as my friend Mary Kay said when told the news. And, she's right...who would've believed just 4 years ago that I would be teaching at the collegiate level? Not me, for sure. It's always been a dream, of course, to teach college students about Psychology, but I frankly didn't think I would have a shot at it until I finished up the Ph.D. two years from now. But, here I am, going into the classroom with 50 students on August 23rd. Amazing.

It's always been true for me that you have to be careful what you wish for in recovery. You're liable to get it, and you have to make sure that it's something that you really want. This has held true for me several times: When I got a job as a French chef at a 4-star restaurant in Boston at age 53, when I got a job working with adolescent drug addicts at a world-renowned drug treatment facility when I was 58, and when I get a job teaching college students at 63. I truly believe that anyone can do anything they set their minds to do at any age. The recipe is simple: The chief ingredient is passion for the work, mixed together with preparation through learning either in school or on-the-job, a level of enthusiasm for the position, and a dash of good luck to be in the right place when the need arises.

These times always beg for a reflective attitude, and I can only offer extreme gratitude to my Higher Power I found in recovery as the main feeling I have at the moment. There are parts of me that feel as if I don't deserve this kind of favorable treatment in the world (has been a lingering character defect not yet removed by my Step Seven prayers), and I struggle to accept good things without waiting for the other shoe to drop. So there is more than a little worry about performing well on the job and carrying through with the dream without somehow screwing it up. But, at the end of the day I realize that I do warrant this kind of favorable and serendipitous activity in my life largely because of the hard work I put into fulfilling my purpose in life and staying clean and sober. Surely I would not be doing any of this if I was still drinking and drugging because, if I was still alive, I would certainly have no ambitions, positive relationships and perseverance to work through the daily demands of living life on life's terms. It's my faith in a Higher Power that has made this possible by giving me hope (Step Two) and strength (Step Eleven) to carry on.

So, I celebrate my achievements by blagging a little bit and know that you who read this are interested in my success and well-being. I am also very grateful for that and will carry this in my heart always.

All the best, Roger W.