From Quarters to a Quarter of a Century

Today I am grateful for my recovery from alcoholism and all the people who have been my supporters and teachers on this journey. A special thank you to my Higher Power, who has a knack for putting these people in my life just when I need them.

From quarters to a quarter of a century. Today marks my 25th year of continuous sobriety. I am grateful beyond words and humbled beyond measure.

If you aren't familiar with "quarters" you aren't missing much. It was a drinking game where the goal was to bounce a quarter into a glass or pitcher of beer. My goal when I was drinking was to get drunk, to escape. A drinking game like quarters helped me achieve that goal. But I paid a heavy price for that escape.

When I was 16, after starting to drink at age 14, I wrote these words: "I found alcohol before I found me." Sad, but true. The next years I got further away from who I wanted to be, further out of touch with my own sense of self. Years of self-pity, self-hatred, perfectionism, and what I saw as failure after failure, took a significant toll on my heart and soul. Alcohol was also starting to take a toll on me physically.

When I quit drinking I had a job, an apartment, a car, clothes to wear, and food to eat. But I was empty, unsuccessfully trying to fill this void with alcohol. Recovery has been about finding myself, getting to know that person I was at 14 and the one I am today. It has been a good mission, a successful one. Instead of being at dis-ease with life and myself, today I actually recognize and seek peace and serenity. Recovery is one of the most amazing gifts and experiences of my life. Daily work for a daily disease.

I am forever grateful to the many people who helped me in so many different ways, beginning with my life savers during my drinking days-high school friend Sheila and college friend Deb. Read about them here and here. In early recovery, Sonny, Phyl, and Terrie were my first teachers and spiritual advisers. Today, the list is long and the heartfelt love and appreciation I send out is real.

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