Well the trip is over, and we’re driving home on the final stretch. A lot of ups and downs, but overall it went well. Here are my Top 10 “Thank God I’m Sober” Moments from the trip:

1. When I had a coherent conversation about my mom’s care, and now can rest easy that a solid plan is in place.

2. When my mom ended up in the ER.

3. When I had to jump in the car to rush off and take care of something that came up.

4. When we took the kids to the beach and had a fun, relaxing time in spite of the other stuff.

5. Oh, and speaking of the beach. There was this couple drinking on the beach while their little boy was off swimming. They took their eyes off him and then couldn’t find him. They were in a panic, screaming his name at the ocean. Then they saw him; he was fine but had just drifted out of their line of sight. Not sure if alcohol was to blame for their lack of attention, but it couldn’t have helped. I felt so awful for them and so relieved. And grateful to be on full alert when it comes to my own kids’ safety.

6. When I decided to go on and have some ice cream. I used to never indulge in treats like this because I was saving my calories for alcohol.

7. When I got up early and took some nice, hangover-free walks on the beach.

8. When I watched the sunset with my kids, figured out which planet was Jupiter, then went for a swim in the hotel pool. Wouldn’t have done that if I had been drinking.

9. Is it possible I actually lost a couple of pounds? My pants feel kind of loose.

10. Heading home with no regrets.

Bottom line: sobriety has helped me take the good and bad things that happen and deal with it. I’ve been reading The Subtle Art Of Not Giving a **** and there’s this quote: “The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience. And, paradoxically, the acceptance of one’s negative experience is itself a positive experience.” That kind of sums up what I’ve been having to learn since getting sober.

Anyway, gotta go; we’re stopping for food soon.

Yeah, this is the stuff of nightmares. The way alcohol makes us inattentive opens us up to so many bad situations. It’s not always life or death; sometimes it’s just detecting when things aren’t going well at school, or when they need a little extra help with something. Any time we operate at less than 100%, our kids get shortchanged.

And if something truly terrible were to happen on my watch, and I’m under the influence ... I’d never forgive myself.

It’s just ... thank god we’re sober, right? I know we’re supposed to be doing this for ourselves, which I am, but holy crap, kids are a huge motivator. They deserve sober parents.