It ain't always roses and yee-haw's
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Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,637
It ain't always roses and yee-haw's
Today I woke up feeling heavy.
The custody schedule alternates years.... and this year is one of those years when my daughters are at their Mom's for Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning. Already the sense of dread descends upon me, the spectre of a Christmas Morning without them.
A big pile of paperwork looms. Bills to be paid. Budgeting to do. Taxes to prepare for. Work has a pile of end-of-year stuff to attend to. Some Christmas shopping remains. There are tasks at the new house to take care of. I haven't been writing. Project that I'm 'working on' has been stalled due to my inaction. I'm lacking motivation to get to the gym. It's cold out, so I haven't run in a long while.
So that's how I first greeted the day. This is just to say - even in sobriety, life isn't always roses and yee-haw's. Life continues to be life. But I sat for a while and read. I did some messing around on the Internet. I wrote a short poem. I had coffee and cookies to indulge. The sun is up, my lady is awake, the day is underway and I begin to feel better as I begin to CHOOSE to see the better things. Christmas shopping is nearly done and we won't be panic-shopping this year. Most of the gifts are wrapped. The girls will be back in just a couple days. We will go skiing this weekend. I have a loving family. I am healthy. I have the capacity to address all the issues that await my attention. I am blessed to be able to have two houses to work on. I am blessed to have children and a loving wife and a bit of spare time to write and read and relax in. I can go to the gym or for a run later today sometime. Each task done is another task accomplished. I can share this little story on Sober Recovery and hope that it helps another human being. I can give thanks for Sober Recovery and the stories I've read this morning that have helped me stay sober today.
It ain't always roses and yee-haw's.... but even life's challenges are far better in sobriety.
Happy Friday erry'body.
The custody schedule alternates years.... and this year is one of those years when my daughters are at their Mom's for Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning. Already the sense of dread descends upon me, the spectre of a Christmas Morning without them.
A big pile of paperwork looms. Bills to be paid. Budgeting to do. Taxes to prepare for. Work has a pile of end-of-year stuff to attend to. Some Christmas shopping remains. There are tasks at the new house to take care of. I haven't been writing. Project that I'm 'working on' has been stalled due to my inaction. I'm lacking motivation to get to the gym. It's cold out, so I haven't run in a long while.
So that's how I first greeted the day. This is just to say - even in sobriety, life isn't always roses and yee-haw's. Life continues to be life. But I sat for a while and read. I did some messing around on the Internet. I wrote a short poem. I had coffee and cookies to indulge. The sun is up, my lady is awake, the day is underway and I begin to feel better as I begin to CHOOSE to see the better things. Christmas shopping is nearly done and we won't be panic-shopping this year. Most of the gifts are wrapped. The girls will be back in just a couple days. We will go skiing this weekend. I have a loving family. I am healthy. I have the capacity to address all the issues that await my attention. I am blessed to be able to have two houses to work on. I am blessed to have children and a loving wife and a bit of spare time to write and read and relax in. I can go to the gym or for a run later today sometime. Each task done is another task accomplished. I can share this little story on Sober Recovery and hope that it helps another human being. I can give thanks for Sober Recovery and the stories I've read this morning that have helped me stay sober today.
It ain't always roses and yee-haw's.... but even life's challenges are far better in sobriety.
Happy Friday erry'body.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Western New York
Posts: 2,446
I'm right there with you. My children alternate years where they wake up Christmas morning. This year happens to be my year and I pick them up from there mothers late on Christmas eve. It's hard when they are here because of the arguing (all pre-teen boys) and hard when they are gone. And bills, work, paperwork so have a way of piling.
Doing my best to not be overwhelmed and be thankful for what we have. A lot my wife's and my friends have been in very poor health this year. I am indeed very lucky to have what I have. A loving wife and healthy family, a home, and the means to take care of it all.
Happy Friday and Merry Christmas!
Doing my best to not be overwhelmed and be thankful for what we have. A lot my wife's and my friends have been in very poor health this year. I am indeed very lucky to have what I have. A loving wife and healthy family, a home, and the means to take care of it all.
Happy Friday and Merry Christmas!
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 8,674
Well said and all true! Everything is better sober....and it's real. Real life with all its challenges. I can relate to so much of what you said, for my tough days. I've been through some "mean reds" a la Audrey Hepburn, some minor depression (back to the dr for help), stuff I now think of as normal life and also progression in sobriety now that it's 10 mo....more to come.
Using the tools we have learned, as you did, is my key to getting through any day or part of it. I am grateful I am much better able to do that, and do it more quickly, when I am some version of irritable, restless and discontent.
My life is largely pink cloud still, and i work at turning to the BB for the challenges (many of mine are such as you mention like money).....and keep going.
Merry Christmas- mine is really different this year than any before, and than I expected for a first sober one- and I am grateful.
Using the tools we have learned, as you did, is my key to getting through any day or part of it. I am grateful I am much better able to do that, and do it more quickly, when I am some version of irritable, restless and discontent.
My life is largely pink cloud still, and i work at turning to the BB for the challenges (many of mine are such as you mention like money).....and keep going.
Merry Christmas- mine is really different this year than any before, and than I expected for a first sober one- and I am grateful.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: US
Posts: 5,095
I hear ya. I have Christmas Eve day and Eve totally alone. I'll wake up alone....well my dogs and cat will be here. I'm ok. She'll be over in the late morning of Christmas. But I hear ya. I ate a ton of sugar crap yesterday and that has me feeling off this morning. Actually had a rogue craving for booze when I woke up. Haha. Who does that? Oh I do. I'm sure its a sugar hangover.
But, like you, life is just life. And I can always find a lot to be grateful for.
Have a good day Owl.
But, like you, life is just life. And I can always find a lot to be grateful for.
Have a good day Owl.
EndGame
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,677
We have an automatic psychological process -- which I will not go into here -- that allows us to be, if not happy with, at least accepting of or even grateful for what we have. Few of us are quiet enough or stand still long enough to appreciate it. It is precisely during times of struggle that we are most capable of working on getting to a better place in our lives. And bringing other people with us. Though not everyone acts on it, or acts on it on every occasion, it is the struggle itself that is motivating. Another opportunity to either despair or to start making a difference. A fork in the road.
When things go well, and even when they don't, at some point in our lives the well-being of other people overrides selfish pursuits, presenting another opportunity for meaning and purpose in our lives in our later years. If it hasn't happened earlier. There are many people who make this their life's work, sometimes in the strangest ways, and often not so obvious. Genuine acts of caring and concern for other people need not shout or advertise their product.
There are hundreds of simple ways to make other people's suffering more bearable. And each time we pass on those opportunities, we further empty something of ourselves.
It's always true and never gets old that, if you want to live a better life, make it your business to take care of someone, even for just a moment. Stand up for someone. Protect someone. Even better, show them how they can do these things on their own.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/12/22...hcHfI0-gfwWQaw
When things go well, and even when they don't, at some point in our lives the well-being of other people overrides selfish pursuits, presenting another opportunity for meaning and purpose in our lives in our later years. If it hasn't happened earlier. There are many people who make this their life's work, sometimes in the strangest ways, and often not so obvious. Genuine acts of caring and concern for other people need not shout or advertise their product.
There are hundreds of simple ways to make other people's suffering more bearable. And each time we pass on those opportunities, we further empty something of ourselves.
It's always true and never gets old that, if you want to live a better life, make it your business to take care of someone, even for just a moment. Stand up for someone. Protect someone. Even better, show them how they can do these things on their own.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/12/22...hcHfI0-gfwWQaw
Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: California
Posts: 13,044
I love that you took the time to flip how you were feeling based on the many things you have to be grateful for. I will have one year sobriety on January 1st, and mindfulness and gratitude have been two keys to my recovery.
Enjoy every minute of the holiday season, and celebrating Christmas with your kids when you have them.
Thanks for sharing this today, it was a great read for me!!
❤️ Delilah
Enjoy every minute of the holiday season, and celebrating Christmas with your kids when you have them.
Thanks for sharing this today, it was a great read for me!!
❤️ Delilah
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