The Power Of Sobriety Thread (POST!) #11
 

Last part here:
https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...t-10-a-20.html

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Thank you Dee!!!:tyou Hoping all is well with you!!

Thanks for the new thread Dee!

Aly, I hope the bleeding ulcers can be cured in the short term. Hopefully, you will start feeling a little better and stronger shortly. Thinking of you always.

Much cooler day here. Getting a couple of dying trees taken down today. I normally take them down myself, but it takes me forever. Kind of glad to pay someone for once to do it.

Best wishes all!

Thank you SG. So appreciate your support.
I'm glad you're not taking the trees down yourself! Could be dangerous. We don't want anything to happen to you. :love:

FBL, Hope you're getting settled in your new office. :wavey:

Cour, how are things with you? Thinking about you and hoping all is going well with you. :hug:

Here! I used to do a lot of tree-trimming by myself back in Arizona. Mesquite has thorns that give major scratches, and I was allergic to the sap on our sumac tree. Gloves only help so much -- but we were pretty broke, and the trees grow like shrubs, interfering with everything (and making the mailbox unreachable for the guy in the truck, so we'd get notices, no more mail). I got pretty handy with a saw.

Thanks for the new thread, Dee! I can't believe we're on #11.

Courage, you are tough! That is hard work. At one of the barns I kept some of my horses at, I would help the woman who owned it, a good friend, much older than I, move the excess wood and help with some of the trees that fell. Her ranch was like 2,000 acres and she knew how to do so much. When I was helping her, she was stronger than I was because she was in such good shape from doing a lot of the work herself! I admired her so much, she was such a strong woman, knew her mind, and so, so good to animals. Nice to think of old friends.

Hoping all of you are well. Thinking of you and wishing you all the best. All my love! :grouphug:

Not tough -- just didn't know how to ask for help, and so isolated there wasn't anyone to ask. Stupid days. Could have been good ones -- I wish I'd known what I was wasting.

Had a park-bench visit and watched the ducks with the son and his dog yesterday by the boat pond in Central Park.

https://i.postimg.cc/CLRND0HP/u-http...summer-nyc.jpg

If that were forever it would suit me fine.

Sounds lovely. :hug:

Went in for my bi-monthly hair buzz yesterday. After I got home, I decided to just shave it all off (see current avi for results)! I'd been wanting to go "full Kojak" for several years now, but just never did it. I figure what I save on haircuts, I can now spend on razors. https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums.../icon_rofl.gif

Have a great weekend, gang!

I love it FBL. I started shaving my head seven years ago. It takes about 90 seconds in the shower with a good razor. Now you need to grow a goatee and be cool like me, lol!

Great picture Courage. My backyard birds amuse me endlessly. They have distinct personalities that I am getting to know.

Have a good day all!

FBL, it's a good look on you!

I agree on the look. sg, now you have to share your own cue-ball. To preserve anonymity, take a back shot. :)

I haven't been productive for days. Woke up today in time to get ready for a regularly scheduled zoom meet -- duh, regularly scheduled for Sundays. Totally lost track of the days. I'm about ready just to confess I'm taking a week off, but for all the things to be done in July, before I have to prep for fall. Still, I'll try to cut back on my professional summer goals. I got a lot done since classes ended in May. My body seems to be commanding my brain to switch to summer pace. :Wburn

It must be very challenging Courage gearing up for fall. My local school district is polling parents about whether or not they want their children to attend in person classes to start the year. Teachers are planning online and in class lessons simultaneously. Things are slowly ramping back up in my state Covid wise. Fortunately, my county is doing well, with good general support for mask use. I am very fatigued being the mask police. My job is to sell groceries, not be a mentor of the social order.

Woke up at three, having had somewhat disturbing dreams that I can't remember, but made me not want to fall back asleep. I hate it when sleep exhausts me.

Going to be a scorcher the next few days locally.

Take care all!

Hey Gang,

Hey, Kojak...lookin' good. Haha, that has been on my to-do list for a few years as well. Right now I use a 0 on my hair thing...leaves a stub. NE has been bugging me to go all the way, I like taking it slow...not sure I'm ready for that commitment yet. :)

Life has become busy again for me and I like it. I not only joined the Y that is close to me, I accepted a part-time gig with them in member growth and fundraising. I plan to grow it into a personal training thing one day in the future. So I went from nothing to do with my day to two gigs at 15 hrs each and it has done wonders for my spirit. I think doing a Whole 30 has helped too. I gained a ton of weight during inactivity and isolation and have shed 16 in the past 27 days with 10 more to go yet. For sure processed sugar was my addiction during that deep isolation. Funny thing, W-30's fix my mind, body and feel spiritual.

C, yes, chill...enjoy some time away if you can. Nice park pic. Ali, best with that ulcer. SG, good luck with that school decision.Rock on, Kojak! Hi, Dee, Glee, and others.

Always grateful that booze seems like such a non-issue in my life!

Glad that you are busy once again Carlos! Inactivity does not seem to suit you at all.

Expecting temps near 100F next couple of days. People were still lined up nearly forty deep waiting to get into the store yesterday. Folks are mini hoarding again, as our state is tightening up things once again. Many expect another lock down come fall. Having extra tp might not be a bad thing once again.

Have a good day all!

Hi everyone,

Aly - Hope you’re feeling better on the ulcer meds. Sending healing thoughts your way.

FBL - Way to go with taking the buzz cut all the way!

Courage - Isn’t it so nice to be a reliable person that other people can count on? I’m still delighted any time I come through for someone in a situation where, in addiction, I might have flaked out.

SG - Your vacation sounds like it was wonderful and restorative. Nature has a way of doing that! I hope the hoarders aren’t impacting your day to day, or your ability to get the supplies you need.

Carlos - Courage is right that sitting around does not suit you. (It doesn’t suit me either!) Finding the just right level of busy is key. Doing something related to fitness and the Y sounds like a perfect fit.

I found out that I’ll be working from home until the end of the year. I am really happy about that! To be sober and able to savor/enjoy it is priceless.

Great to hear from you Glee! I am glad that you can work from home the rest of the year. My wife looks like she will be working from home indefinitely at this point also.

We are agonizing about whether or not to send our daughter to in person school in the fall. She will be starting high school and is excited about that, and is active in the band and other activities. I am not convinced that the school district, despite the best of planning, can keep kids and teachers safe through this pandemic. It is almost understood that even if the kids go back to school, they will inevitably be shutting down again down the line. They are offering online classes besides in person. I was totally underwhelmed by the spring time online classwork provided. We have a week to decide.

Take care everyone!

What a hard decision, sg!

Meanwhile, I'm lobbying my institution to let me go back to my office. It's absurd that with four buildings, capacity 20,000 students and change, they can't/won't let any of those faculty who want to return to work. :(

SG - My kids will be a Freshman and a Junior. The spring remote learning was underwhelming in my school district, very disappointing. The district polled parents and about 80% plan to attend in person. We are leaning towards sending them, for the social component.

The situation is so fluid. I really am trying to take it one day at a time. We can (and might) change our minds. I suspect that schools will go remote by October. I’ll be interested to hear what you decide!


Courage - we have allowed some folks to go into the office. Four agreed to it at the start of July. There are a few more who want to go back in August.

How is everyone doing?

After weeks of agonizing decision making between my wife and I, we agreed to let my daughter begin her freshman year of high school in person. Lo and behold, at the school board meeting last night, the administration admitted to the school board that they had neither enough supplies nor staffing to properly clean and disinfect the many school buildings in our district. The school board voted 7-2 to make the first marking period entirely virtual learning. I know my daughter will be disappointed, but safety was and is of paramount importance. Perhaps, they can make things work later in the fall? My concern, as you had mentioned Glee, was the underwhelming lack of educational opportunity provided during the spring hiatus online. The school district really has to make it feel like school. I am not super optimistic, but it is what it is. Many of the surrounding districts are also going entirely on line learning, while some others are trying to implement a hybrid model. It will be interesting to see how things play out.

I have been feeling generally good this summer. Despite the heat, I spend a lot of time outside working in my yard. I planted some butterfly and bird friendly plants, and now am up to four different bird feeders that I maintain daily. I love watching the show nature provides with the birds and squirrels. Nature watching in your back yard is the perfect Covid activity.

This time of year, I generally feel rather positive and full of energy. In a couple months, my SAD will likely start beckoning, so I am riding this positive wave as long as I can. I did find myself during a yard work break the other day thinking, "darn, a gin and tonic would be so refreshing right now." I began wondering if I could have just one. I swatted that thought away in five seconds, but it's funny how persistent the AV still is occasionally. "Go ahead, have one. You have five years in. You can always hop back on board if things don't work out." I am thankful for all the wise voices here whom have told their stories about their relapses, and the bad times that followed. It is a constant reminder that I am and always will be an addict.

Courage, how are preparations going for the fall? Are you allowed specimen access at this point? Is your school going to be online only, or follow a hybrid mix this fall?

Glee, has your district made a decision about how they are approaching the fall? It's going to be a challenge either way. It will be interesting in my house, with my wife still working from home, and two kids sitting at home for school. Sometimes, I am glad to get out of the house for work.

Aly, how have you been feeling. Have the infusions helped? Are you getting rain in California?

FBL, are you settling into your new abode? Was your boss able to get out of the previous lease?

Carlos, how is the craziness in Florida playing out? Yours is a state with a dearth of leadership. With the number of older people(like us) living there, the stakes are high.

Time to refill the bird feeders and get to work.

Take care all!