Hello Port 45 Family,
I recently had some feelings come up that reminded me of a common struggle among recovering addicts, dealing with the wreckage of the past. My experience was a complicated one. I have an app on my phone from the United States Postal Service and every day it emails pictures of my mail for the day.
One day last week I looked at my email and in my daily mail was a letter from Scioto County Common Pleas Court and it was stamped SUMMONS. Immediately my heart began to race, my ears began to ring and I had a million thoughts run through my mind!
“Was there something from my past that is just now being addressed?” “At ten years clean, is the statute of limitations up on some crime I committed at the end of my addiction that I am just now being charged with?” “Can I lose my credentials over something that happened so long ago?”
In a panic I ran home on my lunch break and checked the mailbox. No mail delivery yet, I returned to work with distracting anxiety the rest of the day.
Wreckage of our past is one of the first concepts that someone in treatment is asked to address. Some will enter with current charges or possibly reporting to probation/parole. Some will have an indictment come out after months or years clean.
There is no changing our pasts, we just have to face it with our head held high without shame and have faith that by “doing the next right thing” that everything will work out in our favor. Most of the time our fear subsides when we face these obstacles because at the end of the day, we are no longer creating chaos in our community and the legal system favors good behaviors.
Cleaning up the wreckage of our past is not always about legal consequences either. Its rebuilding relationships with our family by making amends and living better. Sometimes it is by doing service work in our community to repair our reputation of being a delinquent. Sometimes it is going in front of a judge and asking to have permission to work with addicts despite our criminal past because we are no longer a danger to society.
When I reapplied to college, I had to go in front of a panel of administrators with my treatment completion papers and humble myself. I had to explain why I failed out of college more than ten years earlier and ask for a second chance. An important lesson that I have learned along the way is that my past does not define who I am today.
My past is my past and I do not live there anymore. And as for that letter, I am sure you are wondering, it was a summons for jury duty. . .
Until next time!
Kathy
About Port 45 Recovery:
Port 45 Recovery is proud to provide addiction treatment and other behavioral health services in Ohio. They are fully licensed by the state of Ohio and have convenient locations in both Columbus and Portsmouth. Contact them for more information or to schedule an appointment.
Columbus office (614) 826-9995 | Portsmouth office (740) 529-7356
You can find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.