Just back from a couple weeks in Oregon.
Traveling as a family of 6, including a three month old, a seven year old, a ten year old and a sixteen year old can be fraught with stress. Particularly when the 7 and ten year old (who is already entering teenhood) cannot stop fighting.....
Along the way, plenty of opportunities for feeling 'triggered'.
A central part of the vacation was attending a brother-in-law's wedding.
At one point, on the coast, headed out for groceries I passed one of the hundreds of legal marijuana shops and thought briefly "maybe I'll go grab an edible". Then I laughed and thought "when would I even DO something like that? I'm on vacation with my family. " And on I went with my life.
At the wedding I enjoyed myself and interacted with family and did nothing regrettable and had a beautiful time really being a part of the experience.
At every possible "trigger" I rolled with it.
At my most frustrated, I was able to see it and eventually let it go.
I enjoyed my family, my time off, my baby, my travels, my experiences, my life.
I didn't even think about drinking, didn't want to, had no use for it.
The one brief temptation about pot was a passing moment - like a cloud briefly overshadowing the sun. I didn't have to respond to it like a trained animal.
Life without booze, without substances, without the specter of addiction controlling my every move - is a beautiful, rewarding thing.
Nearly 25 years of my life was lived under that cloud..... and though the sun would shine - the rains and the grey and the black and the dark cast a long shadow over the real potential life held.
It's really gratifying to live in the light.
You can, too.
Happy Sober Tuesday.
