This is a different type of post for me today, but one that is very important. Earlier this week, I received a message via my Facebook page. With the message sender’s permission, I share it here: “My brother has never really gotten out of the college age drinking phase. He is about to turn 31 […]
University of North Carolina senior Ashton Katherine Carrick recently defined the “aspirational blackout” as “intentionally drinking with the goal of submersing yourself in so much alcohol that you can’t remember what happened and the only vestiges that remain from the night before are the videos on your friends’ phones.” Carrick’s identification of stress as the […]
Ever since I can remember, I have sought out special places I can retreat to when I need to find peace. Those places have always be associated with water. The saltier the better. In early sobriety, those places became exponentially more important to me. Without booze as my “come up for air at the end […]
I completely shocked myself this morning. While I have become increasingly vocal in sobriety, my voice still lives mostly in my writing. Unless, of course, I’m barking orders at my family. Or presenting strategy to clients. In groups of other parents, I tend to sponge up what everyone is saying, bite my tongue if I […]
Even though I abandoned my anonymity more than a year ago when I started using my real name to write about my recovery from alcoholism, I still struggle with my identity. Today, I celebrate 20 months of continuous sobriety. It has not been easy. Some days I’m on cruise control, not even thinking about having […]
It’s strange how memory works. Mine isn’t very good these days. Sometimes I seriously wonder if I should start talking with a doctor to find out if I have early onset Alzheimer’s. I’m not kidding. I lost both grandmothers to the horrible disease, and my short term recall has been truly abysmal lately; I can […]
I’m going to put some ugly stuff on here tonight because it’s still fresh and sometimes I think I make my recovery look too pretty. It’s not. Just so you know. But it’s mine. Recovery can be such a roller coaster. Even as I approach 600 days (sometimes I have to count – just to […]
One day at a time. I say it often. I believe it. I trust it. But, just like a casual “I love you,” saying and writing “one day at a time” has simply become habit for me, a hashtag that definitely has meaning but isn’t necessarily meant every time it is used. I always mean […]
With the kids getting ready to head back to school (my youngest leaves tomorrow for one more week of sleep away camp!), it’s getting to be that time. I actually love the end of summer. I’m not one for heat and humidity. Flip flops, yes. Every single day. But, I want to wear them with jeans, […]