TLC attitudes of gratitude — fairy tale life fades as reality takes over
By Lynn Whitlow
Recovery realities face TLC residents
every day. The fairy tale is over.
Once upon a time in a land far away, I
remember when I was a young lass gravi
tating to library shelves filled with thick
hardbound books filled with wonderful
illustrations of castles, princes and prin
cesses, trolls, witches and fairies.
Fairy tales - volumes filled with
enchanted stories that had a magical
ability to transport me away from reality.
The magic only lasted a short time, until
my mother’s insistent reminder that the
dinner dishes needed washing - now!
Rude awakening, but reality.
As adults we can get caught up in
a fantasy world - magical thinking that
ignores the world falling down around us.
Alcohol and/or drug use can, and usually
does, keep the fantasy fires fed.
Prince Charming can be a disguise for
a manipulative monster. The palace party
atmosphere can drown out the angst of our
children as they cry themselves to sleep,
wishing that warm loving parents would
return to them tomorrow.
We can live in a fantasy world only
so long - a few weeks, months or years,
individual time lines vary. But ultimately,
reality comes crashing back - loss of job
because of excessive absences or com
ing to work under the influence, eviction
notices, utilities turned off, credit maxed
out, car impounded or wrecked, hepatitis C
or cirrhosis, divorce, loss of family and
friends and jail time.
The wreckage of our lives under the
influence - where is the prince to carry
us away? Where is the princess to love
us, the castle to protect us? In the closest
bottle of alcohol or pills? This reality is
worse than the one we lived in before the
fantasy trip.
Am I going to reach for that bottle and
slide back into a world that doesn’t seem
so magical anymore or am I just plain tired
of the lie, willing to face the shambles of
my life and reach out for help to rebuild
it, whatever it might take? Am I ready to
get a referral to a detox center where I can
get support and safety in freeing my body
of the toxins poisoning me - my mind,
body and spirit?
Am I ready to take the steps to go to
inpatient treatment where caring trained
people can teach me how to rebuild my
Volunteer for Prevention Program
If you are interested in volunteering with the Prevention Program, here are specific
guidelines for volunteering:
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Apply to be a Tribal Prevention volunteer at Human Resources. This will include
agreeing to a criminal background check and a drug screen.
Attend an orientation with Prevention staff to learn about ethics and program poli
cies and procedures. A volunteer training program will be developed.
For those with previous problems of alcohol/drugs, at least one year of living a
clean and sober lifestyle is required.
Participate in making a prevention video/DVD
All people to be filmed must sign an agreement to be filmed.
The Tribal general manager and Tribal Council must approve of the final cut before
it’s released for public viewing.
Any question regarding this process, please contact Jenifer Metcalf, Prevention
coordinator, at adprev@ctsi.nsn.us or 800-600-5599 or 541-444-9618.
life, reprogram the messages I tell myself
and others, put reality-based structure
into my life and direct me on a healthy
recovery path - a lifetime journey that can
let me experience happiness and joys, as
well as deal with adversity.
There is no instant fix - this is part
of the fairy tale that goes away. It comes
down to making good choices, making
good contacts, asking for help when it’s
needed - leaving the fairy tale book on the
shelf and moving on to the AA Big Book
and/or NA The Basic Text for guidance.
The Siletz A&D Program has people
dedicated to helping direct folks on
the recovery path. Call 541-444-8286
or 800-600-5599 to get started. Each
TLC resident reached out to get the help
they needed before they were eligible to
live there.
They have much to be grateful for: I
am grateful to be able to provide a good
Christmas for my son. I have good friends
whom I can rely on for good times and
bad times. A paycheck! I’m grateful for
a good job, a great boss and wonderful
co-workers. I am grateful for my dad and
my sister, and to have boundaries with my
family. I'm very thankful to have great
mom-and-son talks and to be able to be
present in mind because I’m clean!
I’m so grateful for the whole A&D
staff, all my support people and to my
family who has loved me through my
process. Thank you to all the Force Ac
count workers - your work made our
home more beautiful. I’m grateful to be
home! Happy Holidays to all - you’re in
my prayers.
We have much appreciation for our
volunteers - Alice McCain for overnight
coverage at the TLC, Shawn Foultner for
some weekend repairs and Sunshine Keck
for gifting us with some toiletry items.
We are so happy that the painting
in colors has been completed in all TLC
rooms. It really adds an extra warmth and
character to each room.
We are grateful the Force Account
guys have begun work on our outside
picnic shelter and storage shed. A new
ramp was added to the back deck to assure
safe disabled accessibility in the event of
emergency exits. It also makes it possible
for all to enjoy the outdoor facility when
it’s completed.
Happy New Year to all!
GOLD MOTORS SUPERSTORE
is proud to announce the new
Tribal Members-Family-Friends-Neighbors
Auto,Truck and SUV Discount Program
On ALL new and used vehicles in inventory.
Credit - good, bad or Iffy, I can get you pre-qualified over the phone!
Trade-ins welcome, paid for or not.
Our used vehicles come with a 3-month, 3000-mile limited
power train warranty.
Special service, parts and body shop discounts too.
The Sales Department is open 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mon.-Sat.
We are located at 1422 N Coast Highway in Newport.
For special discounts, pricing and Info, you must call
Perry Johnson at 541-265-7731
or e-mail me at pjohnson@goldmotors.com
January 2011
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Siletz News
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