I haven't been on SR for a while and today I felt the need, I had the time and I'm so glad I did because I saw your food for thought question.
I have encountered mostly two R's in my journey of sobriety that started almost 4 years ago:
Recovery
Relapse
Recovery
Relapse
Recovery
I've learned the hard way that for me to consider myself recovered at any point would be foolish. I will always be recovering and as long as I am recovering there is hope that my life wasn't completely wasted.
PS: Thursday, my current Recovery will be four month and I'm full of hope.
Thanks for the question.