Impressed by sobriety’s gifts
 

There he’s been a lot of illness in me and my partners family of late.
My mum is terminal, my dad has dementia father-in-law is a struggling recovering/active alcoholic who is losing his mind and my mother in law is about to undergo chemotherapy after her mastectomy.

Now with all this going on and having to look after a 3 year old things have been difficult to say the least.

But I have maintained a clear steady head, been present, took up the slack, helped to fill in the holes, given support where needed, gone to work to pay the bills and generally helped to keep things moving in the right direction.

We are taking MIL to the seaside today as it is her last day before the chemotherapy starts.

If I was stil drinking, I would be a complete mess now and would have made things 10 times worse.
So glad I got out.
Not drinking gives me the inner peace to rest easy in the knowledge i’m doing all I can.

Don’t give up, do yourself proud.

Your post is inspiring, the part I quoted above especially so.

It was true for me too.

Nevertheless that sounds like quite the load - all the best to you Snowy.

D

That's the ticket! It helps not one bit to face these issues while drunk. Think about what a pathetic image that brings to mind.

You should be proud of yourself SnowyD you are handling everything so well. Make sure you have time for yourself so you don't get overwhelmed :)

It would be me in my bed hungover with deep dark depression and not contributing towards anything other than my next drink.

Shudder

Just had my van fixed up so if I need a rest it’s a nice place to be.
Or I can have a walk round the local nature reserve if it’s nice weather.
Saw some red squirrels today! 😃 yay

So many gifts...

They’re there for the taking.
They pop up everywhere when I least expect it.
I love my new life.
Happy days:)

Impressive and inspiring perspective Snowy, thank you for sharing. Its truly incredible what sobriety brings. There is a recent post about whether drinking brings out our 'true' selves. I think your post stands as a clear counterpoint to any such considerations. You are living proof that nothing could be further from the truth. The gifts that sobriety brings, you are able to share them with others. Now that's a beautiful definition of a true self.

Thanks for the kind and thoughtful reply Less’
Nice to read first thing before I go to work.

🙏💖

Brilliant, Snowy. I totally agree that there is nothing that drinking wouldn't make 10 times worse, and you honor your family by being completely present for them in their need. Wishing you lots of strength and for renewed health for your family members. Sobriety's gifts are varied and wonderful and I treasure mine as my most prized possession---we are surrounded by miracles.