Yes, he’s in jail, his family is losing their home, he gambled away all the profits from his business and he wants money for socks! He has the audacity to call to say he wants socks!

http://www.walkingthruthedark.com/2022/05/20/how-much-more-can-i-take/

I think that this is the first time that I am this angry with him. He has not only let his children down, leaving them homeless, but he has let himself down. He was running a successful business, but he didn’t work on his recovery. He was a great Dad, but he didn’t go to meetings. He was happy, until he relapsed and started gambling. He was working too hard, like he had something to prove. Without doing the work for his sobriety and recovery eventually it all came tumbling down. You don’t recover just because you stopped using. Long term that just doesn’t work.

https://www.addictionsandrecovery.org/five-rules-of-recovery.htm

excerpt from above link  – A common fear of recovery is that you are not capable of recovery. The fear is that recovery requires some special strength or willpower that you don’t possess. But people just like you, with strengths and weaknesses, with determination and self-doubt, have recovered from addiction.

I am angry. I know that addiction is a disease. I have a disease too, diabetes, and I follow the treatment plan so that it is controlled. I follow the advice of my doctor who is basically my sponsor, the person I go to for advice when I have an issue. Addicts also need to follow their treatment plan! It doesn’t go away by itself, you can’t do recovery alone. I think that is why I am so angry. I know it isn’t easy but it is possible. You can control it with the help of others. Trying to do this on your own does NOT work!

He seems to have a very inflated opinion of himself, like he is above it all, he is better then everyone else. He can do this on his own because proven research couldn’t possibly be correct. Millions of people have followed the prescribed treatment and continued to live sober lives but he seems to feel he is different. I understand there might be blips or stumbles along the way but with the proper support system you can get back up and on track again quicker.

I wish he could understand all this. I wish he would go to meetings. I wish his life was easier. I wish he could continue to be the man and father that I have seen. I wish he didn’t have to stumble. I wish he would follow the straight and narrow path. I wish he wouldn’t continue to make the same mistakes over and over. I wish I could have my son back. I wish my grandchildren could have their father back. If only wishing could make it true. But only action on his part can make any of this happen. I can’t do it for him, no one can. Only he can decide if he wants to ask for socks.