Monday, September 15, 2025

It Means a Lot to Me

Connecting with loved ones is what recovery is all about.

By Don Mundy, Representative

I was recently in Toronto for a work meeting, and since my adult daughter, Callan, lives there, I tacked on a couple vacation days to spend time with her. I’m from the Vancouver area, so we only see each other once or twice a year, but it’s always a special visit.

Callan graduated from high school in Abbotsford, BC, back in 2015 and then decided to go to school at York University in North York, Ontario. She came back for a couple summers and a few months during COVID, but basically, she’s been gone since she finished high school—which is tough, to tell you the truth. I joke about how we need to raise our children to be strong and independent, but gosh darn they grow up to be strong and independent and move away!

But my daughter is doing great. She graduated from York in 2020 and soon after got a job at an immigration law firm in downtown Toronto. I went to see her office, and it looks like something out of a Suits episode. Proud papa here. She has a wonderful boyfriend, and it looks like they’re heading toward marriage. I’m happy for her, but of course I miss her tons.

We try and connect as best we can. One way we connected this past year was training for and running a half-marathon. My race was here in Vancouver and hers was in Toronto.

Turns out our races were the same day: May 4. So, we made a little bet: whoever ran the faster time would get treated to a nice dinner by the other person the next time we saw each other. Who won? Well, let’s just say I had to fork over some hard-earned cash at a nice Italian restaurant on Dundas Street in Toronto. What’s more? Just before dinner, she took me on an 8K run. It was hard to keep up to her!

When Callan was in high school, we used to go to concerts together all the time. It was one of the things we did to bond. So, when I was last in Toronto, she got us tickets to an obscure band I’ve never heard of before (Pierce the Veil).

Unbeknownst to me, it was an outdoor concert, and it happened to be the only rainy day of the week! It was cold and wet, and I didn’t know a single song. But I loved every second of it because I got to spend a few more hours with my precious daughter.

I mention this because when Callan was little, I found myself in the grips of a drug addiction that took me down hard. My addiction caused the breakup of my marriage to her mom, and I left a wake of destruction behind me. I’m grateful to have cleaned up and turned things around, and over the years I’ve made amends the best I could to those I harmed.

But there was always something in the back of my mind about my daughter. I was worried that as she got older, into her teens and 20s—and began to understand more about what happened—would she reject me? Would she want anything to do with her dad? Would she ever want to talk to me again? It’s an insecurity that I’ve had to live with and deal with for almost 20 years.

When I talk to others in my Step 12 group, this is a common issue. Many of us have hurt the people we love the most. We’ve all worked very hard to get clean and stay sober. We’ve done the work. We’ve made our amends. But none of us can control how our loved ones will respond.

I’m grateful Callan never rejected me or decided to cut me out of her life. She looks forward to when we can get together once or twice a year when one of us gets on a plane. Whenever she flies to Vancouver, no matter what time of day it is, I will always, always, always pick her up at the airport—even though it’s literally a 10-minute Uber ride from YVR to her mom’s place in Vancouver.

And so, when my daughter took time out of her busy schedule to pick me up at the airport, when she took me to that cold wet concert and we jumped up and down with the crowd, and when she gloated about beating me in a half marathon, I tell you this: it meant a lot to me. It’s something I’ll never take for granted.

Many CLAC members have struggled with addictions. I’m proud to see the robust program we’ve developed to help them get into recovery. We work with employers to help smooth the transition back into employment, and we work hard on accommodations. It’s very satisfying to see successes on that side of things.

But often, we don’t see or hear about the times when members who are recovering from an addiction reconcile with their loved ones. It’s successes on that front that mean the most.

So, here’s to more half-marathons, more nice Italian restaurants, and more freezing cold and wet outdoor concerts. I can’t wait!

If substance use is impacting you, talk to your representative or visit our Alcohol and Drug Case Management page on myCLAC.ca.

Callan and Don

It Means a Lot to Me

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