Wednesday, May 26, 2010




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i am blessed to know a big bunch of recovering alcoholics. biff and i have had lots of exposure to the disease....through the years working with lots of different people....myriad friends and family along the way.  first of all, i'm irish!  second of all, they tell me that they are 1 in 4!  wow. guess what?  i hardly had a clue that some of the people i love were struggling.  they "NEEDED" a drink!  third of all, they all say that they had signs, personal sign posts or warnings along the way....accidents, blackouts, D.U.I.s or missed work among the many.


different people.  different places.  different things. circumstances. wall street guys with families and big houses in beautiful towns with lots of beautiful kids....friends, who had to have a couple glasses of wine after work and kept drinking into the night......an old friend from my hometown who started drinking when her kids went to kindergarten.....a guy that was drinking since high school when it was fun with friends and now his friends have moved on to other successful worlds......a friend who has taught at the finest universities in the country who couldn't write a paper unless she had "a few".......as we've all gotten older, we hear lots more!  and now...we've had sadness of knowing some who just couldn't make it "one day at a time."

for years....they drank and drank...until they just woke up sick and tired.  they tell me that they were "tired of being sick and tired", some had family who did interventions and some who had a day that really scared them...realizing the affect it was having on family who loved them.  they tell me that their life was becoming "unmanageable" and they couldn't hide their "secret" anymore.

way back when, we all did....now, as time goes on, some can't stop!  for real...CAN'T STOP!  wow. now that's what i call a disease. 


the coolest part of all....their lives sober than they ever could have imagined!  there lives are healthy with healthy friends.  they have more energy.  they have more time in the day to be active.  they say drinking stole their lives away....drinking took up lots of time and energy.  they have fun.  they have faith.  their friends can enjoy them now.


some people feel sorry for  recovering alcoholics. ironically, the recovering person feels sorry for them.  the drinkers think it's too bad their friends and family "can't" drink anymore.  the sober are so grateful their life is so great that they have an"the attitude of gratitude."


now, that's someone i want to be around.  someone who is grateful. someone who makes the best of any situation. someone who doesn't judge.  someone who is accountable for their behavior. someone who looks at problems as a challenge.  someone who's honest with nothing to hide.


"one day at a time" sounds pretty good to me....not too overwhelming...a little bit at a time....baby steps....mom....taking care of our babies/kids/teens.......if i thought about how much there is to parenting too much, i'd be overwhelmed. 


i'd rather be grateful, thankful and take it one day at a time......even if it's my blog.  everything is easier...one step at a time. 

that's how i'll write the blog and
let's see how that goes. i think i'll be happier....enjoy it more...have more fun....so will the people around me!  thanks to the many friends and family who have shared their healthy way of living! 


.....and prayers everyday for the people we know who struggle with this hideous disease....and the people loved and lost from this vicious disease. may they find comfort in sobriety and a healthy way of living.  one day at a time.  this blog's for them.

not quite as simple but....it seems that lots of  recovering people work at seeing how to find the solution rather than dwelling on the problem.

i can learn from that!  i'm still open to any help or chance to learn along the way.....to oversimplify the recovering lifestyle.....if life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

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