Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on Reddit Share on Pinterest Share on Linkedin Share on Tumblr My name is Lucy. I am a pug. I want to tell how my brother Joey, my sister MP, and I all helped with our Mom’s recovery. In 2009, our Mom was very sad. She was eating a lot. Nothing would help. She even took trips and had holidays but was still very sad. We decided to help. On our Mom’s desk was The Twelve-Step Workbook of Overeaters Anonymous (no telling how many years it had been there). It was a place to start. After she came home from church on Sunday, we had her write in the Workbook. We were quiet during that time. We let her cry and laugh and yell. When she finished, we let her know we loved her. Every Sunday, we did this for at least thirty minutes. Sometimes she would listen to music or burn candles. She always wrote. Together, we finished the Twelve-Step Workbook and the Voices of Recovery Workbook. I still do this with Mom every Sunday. Now we are working on the For Today Workbook. After Mom started writing, we noticed she was not quite so sad. Summer came, and, since mom’s a teacher, she didn’t have to go to work, so we added a daily walk. Taking all three of us on a walk was quite a workout! We did this first thing every day, and when school started again, we walked when Mom got home. This is when Joey was the real hero. He would bark until Mom put on her walking shoes and got out our leashes. No matter how tired Mom was, Joey could get her to walk. We got her a hat with LED lights so we could walk in the dark. We got wool coats so we could walk when it was cold. We bought her walking shoes on more than one Mother’s Day. Mom had rain gear; we didn’t always walk with her in the rain, but we made sure she walked anyway. Mom found that because she was walking, her body demanded better food and she ate less. One piece of fruit fed her body much better than ten desserts! More than seven years ago, we started helping Mom with her recovery. She is a happy person now, and has released over 110 pounds (50 kg). She uses the Tools and practices the Twelve Steps. Mom admits that writing and walking are two cornerstones of her recovery. MP has been gone for four and a half years and Joey for six months. Since I’m 15 and a half years old, I won’t be around much longer either. But don’t worry. I’m leaving a note for the new pug about how to care for Mom. — Lucy, Washington USA
