Serenity isn't the state of things being perfect - things are never really perfect, but you can modify the way you deal with them, and you learn that in treatment and in a program, knowing how to reset your boundaries, what you can and can't control in your life etc and being able to accept that rather than struggle against it.
I think as a habitual addict, in recovery I continued to think with a typical addict mentality - I still consciously or subconsciously looked for the reason to use/drink again. Any small thing, no matter how trivial.
Acceptance is more than an intellectual awareness I think, it is also profoundly emotional, psychological, spiritual if that's the way you believe.
You are right, life can't be just all recovery but really, my life is fuller these days because I am abstinent. It took time to get there and learn to appreciate it, because it's not the full instanteous gratification I once sought but where did that get me? It always wore off and I needed more all the time to sustain it, while my life fell apart around me.
Things can be very up and down in the first year of recovery, I hit a few 'walls' where I felt stuck and getting nowhere but luckily I had the support to get through those patches and really, those were times that led to some breakthroughs and growth, even though it felt like nothing was really happening at the time.
Addicts tend to want results quickly and that's no different in recovery, but recovery is in the long term more meaningful and rewarding.