Great Experience!

I recently had the opportunity to visit the rehab I graduated from in March of 1987. I was the the very first resident and then the first graduate of the program. I was amazed to find the same furniture was still there with my name and date carved into the arm of the chair. It was alittle spooky being back there after so long, but they treated me very kindly. I spoke with the director of the program and several people of the company that runs it. They explained how the program works and I told them about how it has grown since I was there. After talking for about an hour and having a tour of the facility they brought all of the residents into the common room. The director introduced me and let me address the guys. It is an adolescent program for boys ranging from 15 to 18 years old. It was like going back in time looking at them. I used to sit in that exact same chair and wait for whoever was speaking to shut the hell up so I can go back to my room! I spoke to them for about 15 minutes. Most of them had no questions or any reaction at all. A couple of them wouldn't have noticed if I was on fire. But 2 of them seemed mildly interested. The staff working there were thrilled to have me there. It was like being a small time celebrity. I listened to the staff remind them of all the horrible fates that awaited them if they didn't get their act together. I'm sure these kids were well aware of this by now. I know I heard daily about how I was going to end up homeless then dead on the side of the road. I respectfuly acknowledged the comments of the staff as entirely possible, but asked the kids if they have ever considered all of the amazing and great things that may happen to them if they get their shit together. How many of us ever considered that while in rehab? I sure didn't. I'll speak for myself insaying that getting sober is absolutely necessary and much easier to achieve if I have some positive goals and ambitions to go along with the threat of impending doom. In short, the opportunity to visit these kids and try to impart a positive message hopefuly helped them but absolutely helped me appreciate what I have, who I have, and all of the fantastic things waiting for me to find them. It was great to get some perspective. Good luck everyone!