Day 198 in my self-discoveries on the way to meeting up with Mickey (7 months 21 days to go!)

I came to a realization today.  I AM ANGRY!  Remember that line from Pretty Woman when Richard Gere says, “It cost me ten thousand dollars in therapy to say that sentence: “I was very angry him.” I do it very well, don’t I? I’ll say it again: I was very angry with him. “Hello, my name is Mr. Lewis, I am very angry with my father.“?  That’s it in a nutshell for me.  No therapy, but I am very angry with my father.

Now don’t get me wrong; I love my dad.  Always have, always will.  He was an alcoholic.  BUT he went to work every day, he saw to it that our house was in order and maintained, he kept food on our table and clothes on our backs.  But he would drink himself into a stupor on a regular basis.  A beer, became a 6 pack, became a 12 pack.  I would lay in bed praying that he wouldn’t pass out on the kitchen floor and hurt himself.  I promised God so many things, if he would just not let my dad get hurt.  (I broke all those promises eventually.  Figures, right?)  🙂

Then later in life an inch of scotch became a juice glass of scotch, became a water glass of scotch.  And then he was gone.  And it broke our hearts to lose him, because we all knew he loved us.  He would give anyone the shirt off his back, and then go home to get a spare to give them, too.

Why share this now?  Because I learned how to make the anger go away.  I ate it.  If I ate myself into a sugar coma, then I didn’t give a damn about anything really, and if I I didn’t care about anything, then the anger was buried, too.  There was a time when I blamed my dad for my weight.  I don’t anymore.  I ate the food; I am responsible for my choices.  I did this to myself.

My dad?  Forgiven long ago.  My memories are of the good times now.  The vacations to visit with relatives, (I love my brothers and their families, my cousins, aunts and uncles! I am blessed to have them in my life!)  And my dad and mom always supported my ministry.  Dad drove all over the UP to hear us sing.  Later in life he would send me encouraging, uplifting Christian emails.  (I suspect he forwarded them from SISU the clown.  Thanks, Sandy!)  My dad did loving, caring things for me.

My job now?  To move forward from this place of realization, of pain, of anger released and make better choices for a healthier lifestyle.  This is a major breakthrough, People.  I’m optimistic about the future.  God be praised!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: Wow, you guys!  I met an actual hero today.  Aziz Abu Sarah is an incredible voice for peace.  My head is seriously swimming in all I heard this morning.  I want to live a better life dedicated to peace.  Stay tuned for more, and if you live in the area, get over to St. James Lutheran Church in Lake Forest for 3:00 pm to hear him speak.  Absolutely life-changing.