For A Day, For a Week

Today I am grateful for the unsettling times that become the transformative times. I am also grateful for the various teachers who are sent my way in a day. This morning, our dog Oliver has been one; reminding me to lighten up.

For a day. Recovery comes in increments of one day at a time. One hour at a time when most deeply tested. Emotional sobriety is my priority these days. Physical sobriety is "easier" now, but not taken for granted.

When I do the daily work needed for emotional sobriety, I don't do it alone. I have help of the human and beyond human varieties. When I do the work, I don't feel alone or lonely. That makes all the difference. Loneliness and terminal uniqueness are dangerous.

For a week. My son Sam participated in an extra credit opportunity for his College Psychology class this past week. He turned in his phone last Monday and got it back yesterday. No phone for a week. He had computer access and he used my phone to check his social media a few times, but other than that he was phone-free.

I think it got easier for him as the days went by. He got other things done. Things he appreciated and so did his dad and I. He cleaned his room, got unorganized areas organized, gave away some clothes he had outgrown. I missed him having his phone at times too. But I appreciated how it changed some of our time together and our conversations.

He would also tell you he slept better. Will it change his relationship with technology? In some ways it already has.

For a day. For a week. For a moment. I give thanks for grace, transformation, many teachers. I appreciate daily experiences that define my priorities. Onward!

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