humansofnewyork: “Chris was working as a caddy when we met. It was the summer of the US Open,
humansofnewyork: “Chris was working as a caddy when we met. It was the summer of the US Open, so it was a lot of fun. We were hanging out at the bar every night. I did notice that he loved to party, but he’d never get abusive or angry. He’d just drink too much. Some nights he’d fall asleep in the back seat of the car. Or pass out on the floor of my apartment. But he’d always apologize the next morning and everything would be fine. But the drinking seemed to get worse as the summer went on. One time I took a trip to Florida, and my apartment was trashed when I came home. That was my breaking point. I dropped all his stuff off at his parents’ house and blocked his number. But three nights later he sent me an email. It said: ‘You’re right. I need help.’ So I made some calls and helped him get a bed in a rehab facility. The next morning I took him to the treatment center, and I assumed that was the end of it. But he kept calling. Every single day he’d call from the payphone in the lobby. He acted like a little baby at first. He wanted me to take him back. He wanted to know how long before people starting trusting him again. Then he’d get mad, and hang up on me. But he got more serious about sobriety as time went on. When he left rehab, he chose to live in a halfway house. He found a good program. He went to 90 meetings in 90 days. The whole time he kept calling to give me updates, and I kept answering the phone. My friends and family thought I was crazy. They’d ask me why I was still talking to him. And I wasn’t sure myself, but he never gave me a reason not to. For seven years he just kept doing what he said he was going to do, day by day. He got a job at Target. Then he moved on to a call center. Then he got a sales job. The entire time he saved his money so that we could buy our first house together. And he’s an unbelievable father. He makes breakfast every morning. Dinner every night. And he earned his Masters’ degree online while we had a newborn baby. This whole thing began with me trying to help him get his life together. But now he’s the one who inspires me. I look at him, and his sobriety, and everything he’s accomplished, and it makes me want to be a better person.” -- source link