Excellent post, this deserves to be pinned.
I knew the enormity of the challenge that was ahead of me and I STILL underestimated just how tough early sobriety was going to be. However there was a pleasant surprise waiting for me once I got through the worst of it.
My goal was to live a simple life sober without white knuckling my way through daily existence. Nothing more, nothing less. After working my program and letting the mind and body heal I now wake up happy every morning. Being in a joyful mood is my default setting these days.
I'm 40 years old, I was NEVER happy going back to my childhood years. Now I'm happy which I wasn't even expecting, I just wanted to be able to live without craving for a drink every second.
Sobriety makes these miracles possible.