Learning to Trust

Letter of gratitude from an alumni of the Family Foundation School

Dear Mike,

I do not know exactly when you are leaving, so I figured I would be on the safe side and write this now.

I want to thank you. I know that without the softball season, I would have gone right back on work sanction. Playing softball gave me a completely different way of looking at what sobriety is. I know now that it is about hard work, determination, honesty, fellowship, but above all, it is about fun. I got all of that out of the season. I was always one to bail out of things that I had any interest in, out of the fear of failure. This time I did not do that, and in return, I got the best experience of my life.

I have been too scared that I am going to ruin the shirt you gave me, so I keep it under my pillow. It helps me though. I guess you could say it helps me keep it green. It reminds me of all the fun that we all had. I am constantly thinking about the team and replaying games in my head. I guess I have an obsession. Having the shirt there once I get up to the dorm also helps me to remember to pray, not take everything too seriously, and to not lust out. It doesn’t matter what happened during the day.

I also really want to thank you for helping me to learn to trust, especially men. For the longest time I believed men were just scum, and I don’t think that you will be the last one to admit that some of them are. The point is that in the past three or four months, I have learned to trust the men in my life that have my best interest in mind, and my best interest only. Dave, Jan, Bill, and Myron are all people here that I have learned to trust and look at as father figures. My dad and I also enjoy each other now. I really believe that a lot of that comes from you treating me as your own, without really knowing me very well.

Thank you for all the laughs, the talks, the lifelong lessons, and fun.

Love Always,

-G