I think many of us tend to think recovery is linear - the farther we get away from our starting point the more 'recovered' we should be.
Thats not always been my experience - I've had down days, and days when I thought of drinking (my DOC)...the difference is now, I think, like you say, there's no imperative behind the thoughts, and we have the tools to deal with them
I'm really glad to see your progress OWW.
D