If a recovered addict is not in your life, you’re missing out.

There was a time when my son said I would be grateful for his addiction – or some such nonsense.

I didn’t laugh, but at the time it seemed laughable.

He’d had about four months sober.  We were sitting at an outdoor coffee shop in Ft. Lauderdale, catching up over breakfast.  Being with him in this new life – free from the effects of drugs or alcohol – was new for both of us.

But I was loving it.

Here was a boy no longer, but a young man in his twenties, who sounded “normal.”  His eyes were clear.  His skin and body radiated the warm Florida sun.  He had overcome something I could never imagine.  Like an accident victim emerging from a coma, the world was fresh for him again- as it was for me.

I met his new community – men and women just like him – many from solid families who for reasons unimportant had fallen into addiction too.

Now, they also savored this new freedom.  These were some of the most profound, generous, thoughtful, humble and honest people I’d ever met.

Was it because of what their recovery had taught them?  and the intense self-analysis that comes with it?  Has knowing them changed me?

I certainly hope so.

I certainly hope that some of their honesty, humility, and clear-eyed way of looking at the world has rubbed off on me.

So am I grateful my son has – had? – an addiction?

That’s a tough one.  Some memories are still too haunting.

But I am grateful for this….

Those who recover from addiction and work hard each day to live that recovery – including the people around my son – are some of the best people you’ll ever meet.