Lessons In Humility, Part I

You know, growing up, I always heard about humility, and how desirable a trait it is. At church, in Sunday school, there were lessons on it. In recovery they make a pretty big deal out of it as well. Well, I'm here to tell you folks, did I ever get a dose today. It shouldn't be that big of a deal, and I suppose that it really isn't, but it's on my mind enough to mention it here. Jessi and I have applied for Food Stamps, and there has been some administrative errors on the behalf of the county office. So, today I had to go down there and stand in the huge line snaking around the enormous lobby and out the front door. That in and of itself isn't that bad. Well, that's actually part of it. After about an hour, not too bad, I get to the front. I had to wait for an English speaking representative to help me. No problem. She asks what I wanted, I tried to explain it to her, over her constant interruptions. I won't bore you with all the gory details, but the end result was that I was then told to take a seat and my name would be called. All I needed were replacement forms to fill out (to replace the ones they lost). So, after negotiating my way around screaming infants, dozens of unattended toddlers playing WWF off the chairs, and by the signs informing me that they are fresh out of H1N1 vaccine, I found a seat. There I sat, minding my own business for the next, oh, three hours. I made good use of the time, writing part of my second step while I waited. But, unfortunately for us, I had to be at the South County Center for Change, AKA Drug Court, at 11:30. So, those 3 hours were just a practice run. I would go back in the morning, but I have court at 9:00, then group at 12:00. So Monday it is. I know that in the past I have been very smug and thought I knew it all a lot. My intelligence coupled with constant abuse of a vast cornucopia of pharmaceuticals convinced me that I knew everything, and I shared that belief with many many people, usually customer service representatives or the like. But today, oh today, I'm getting a crash course in advanced humility. And you know what? I'm going to walk through it with grace and dignity, knowing that I am growing with each event that embarrasses me, every time I let something slide that I used to call people on. So that's my lesson for today. Zoe and I are here at home, we went to Shakey's and ate some pizza and played some games, and she's in the tub trying her level best to water the entire bathroom floor. I asked her if she thought maybe some soap would be a good idea, only to be informed that she took a comprehensive bath at her Daddy's house last night, and that tonight's event is strictly for play. And that's ok, cause she's going to get clean anyways. God, thank you for today.