Achieving Serenity

The Mystery Boxes

Taking recovery home

Greg was nine months abstinent from gambling and had the fellowship of Gamblers Anonymous to thank for this. He went to a meeting every day after work, chairing two meetings per week, and hitting up three meetings on Sundays. When he wasn't at meetings or work, he would spend time with as many fellow compulsive gamblers as he could, most extensively with his sponsor, David. Greg was determined to work the twelve steps and continue to practice the principles in all of his daily affairs.

Greg's wife was happy that he had finally made progress with his evil addiction, but was beginning to grow frustrated with how often he was away. She was happy to spend the extra time taking care of their ten-year-old son while Greg was working hard to stay clean, but lately, she felt it was getting out of control.

"Hey mom, I'm writing a story about Dad for school," the fifth-grader said one afternoon after arriving home from school. "Can you help me out by answering some questions?"

"I can see what I can help with, but your father should be home in a few hours if you want to talk to him!"

The two sat at the dining room table as the little boy penciled in a questionnaire form. They skipped all the questions the mother did not know, and the boy was beginning to ask questions that weren't provided to him by the school. It appeared he had a genuine interest in his father, which Greg's wife was delighted to see.

A few hours passed, and she noticed that Greg seemed to be running unusually late. She called up his mobile phone to find that he sent her to voicemail, which initially infuriated her. A few moments later she received a text message notifying her that he went straight to the GA meeting from work. This bothered her, but she was satisfied that he was at least getting better. Usually, he would be at the casino or dog tracks at this hour. She couldn't deny things were getting out of hand, though. It was as if recovery was more important to him than his own family.

The final straw for Greg's wife happened when he snapped at their son. Greg was on the phone with his sponsor for over an hour when the little boy walked into his study to ask him a question. Barely even acknowledging his son, he gently shoved him out of the room and locked the door.

Greg was spending less and less time at the house, and his wife was beginning to grow suspicious that might not be where he actually says he is. However, after setting up a GPS tracker under his car, she confirmed that there was no foul play present. She tried talking to him about how it seems he is becoming withdrawn from the family, but Greg waves this off as her not realizing how miraculous it is that he isn't placing a bet today.

A few weeks after Greg had picked up his one-year coin, his wife was sitting at home feeling lonely and slightly depressed. The doorbell rang, and it appeared a UPS driver was dropping off a package. She walked to the front door to retrieve the rectangular box which was addressed to her son.

"Gabriel! You have a package!" she screamed up the stairs at her isolating son.

The sound of his bedroom door rampaging open and footsteps scurrying rang out as she saw him running down the stairs. He was recording himself using his phone, talking to it as if he was speaking to an audience.

"And the goods are here! Are you all as excited as me?!" Gabriel said into his iPhone, displaying his mirror image on its screen.

"What is this?" his mother asked.

"Well why don't we find out together, shall we?" he responded, as he began clawing at the tape. She walked into the kitchen to retrieve some scissors, but Gabriel had already broken into the package before she came back. It was an electric guitar.

"And I can confirm it! It's real!! I spent ten dollars on this guitar, and it is now AT MY HOUSE!" Gabriel said into the camera. His mother, realizing that her son is doing something for the internet, tries to appear as cordial and friendly as possible.

"What is going on, Gabriel?" she asked, once he turned the recording off. The boy runs upstairs to get his laptop and then brings it back down to his mother. He starts explaining to her this new website that his favorite YouTube vlogger showed him, where you pay money to open mystery boxes. She could see the joy and happiness in his eyes and felt a strong bond with her son at this moment. She begins using the site as well, and this becomes something the two do together.

Six months go by, and Greg is on the internet viewing a string of hefty credit card transactions that he does not recognize. To his oblivion, his wife and son have become addicted to an online game synonymous to gambling. He starts talking with his wife about the charges, thinking someone has stolen his identity. His wife is nervous but spills her emotions about what is really going on.

She didn't even realize it was gambling until she found herself fantasizing and itching for more mystery boxes. Even when she was out at the grocery store, there would be a faint craving to get back as soon as possible. She would see Gabriel not eating as much, and speeding through his meals when he did. Eating was once something he cherished and enjoyed, but not was something he sped through as quickly as possible to get back to his mystery boxes.

Greg asks his sponsor what to do, and he says heneeds to bring them both to a meeting. He does this, but after a few days ofasking for answers, it appeared they had come to him. Greg looks back at hisrecovery journey and sees how neglectful he was at home. He was obsessed withthe Gamblers Anonymous program in the same unhealthy way he was obsessed withgambling. When he looked at the way he treated his son, the facts were obvious:He was not practicing the principles in all or his daily affairs.