Today we (you and I) bought an alarm clock, $5.96, plus $.48 tax.

I was walking with one of the new girls today at Liberty Manor. She was having trouble getting up, claimed she had no money for an alarm clock, was missing her meds by being late, etc. Try as I might to get her out of the excuses (there are certainly reasons!) into the empowerment of self-responsibility, she wasn’t moving. I thought, “What can I do that will not be enabling, solving it for her, but something that will help her take responsibility?”

I talked with one of the therapists and asked if I could take her to buy an alarm clock, but it was really too early for her to be going out anywhere. But she said it was okay to buy one for her. So I found her and asked her if she’d like me to get her an alarm clock. Part of it was a test to see if she’d have another excuse or if she really had a sincere desire to move forward. Her amazement and gratitude that I would do that for her gave me the answer. Tear welled in her eyes and we hugged. Can you see why I love this work so much?

Another woman asked to talk to me about volunteering with us. She already has an AA degree and started to finish her bachelor’s. She wants to do what I do J. We talked about her strengths and weaknesses and discussed making a contract to help her to be accountable in the ways she has wanted but not been successful at. I’m thinking about what she can do as a volunteer that will help us but more importantly, empower her. She wants to volunteer where she feels she’s making a difference in the world. She confided that sometimes she thinks she only deserves to die with a needle in her arm. I told her what a good woman she was. Tearfully she thanked me and said, “You’re one of a few that believe that.”

If you are in any way a part of Life Listening Resources and/or Project Empower, this is YOUR work. Thank you for bringing hope to women, helping them see their own beauty and internal strength! Moments like these really count!