I saw Kevin from Recovery Allies yesterday. I went to the impressive, Equine Coaching ranch called One Neigh at a Time, and after second guessing Siri and David’s hand drawn map and getting lost (hey Siri, I know I didn’t turn where you told me to turn before, but am I supposed to be on a one […]
Last night on the phone (after we dealt with yet another unintelligible crisis in her young life) Ellie asked me, “Miss Marilyn, are you happy?” I think that may be my new favorite interview question. It stopped me in my tracks. Recently, I have gotten comments from people who tell me my life in recovery finally […]
Kim sent me an aphorism this weekend. It was about the kind of friend I am – a cowgirl, blasting through a door with a shovel and a plan. I am that kind of friend and I have always been good in an emergency. The adage also mentions whiskey and the fact that some friends […]
I made up that number. But I’ve had a few meltdowns over the past three years. It seems that with each new season of my sobriety, I go great guns and then (as guns are want to do) I detonate and fizzle and as Dee’s grandma used to say, “take to my bed”. The last […]
I didn’t realize it was the first time I had been on a boat since I’ve been sober, until I was on a boat looking at the big white cooler that, on most watercraft, holds cold beer and wine… It was the first time in three years I was going for a boat ride that wasn’t a […]
Okay people, do I take a pill to end the alcohol cravings and life becomes a joyride forever? Or do maintenance drugs work only when coupled with therapy and an earnest attempt at lifelong abstinence? Does “connection” stop me from becoming addicted to heroin? Or is anything I take for back pain a gateway to street drugs? Am […]
Alone in a field of barley or wheat or something pretty… Edgetts Lodge I have been asking people lately, what are the situations and locations you feel most inclined to use addictive substances? What are the smells and sights and sounds that emotionally trigger you? As you can imagine, I am a lot of fun […]
So, I’m beachside in this tiki bar and a huge tumbler of chardonnay goes by; the waiter can barely carry it. The thing is so big and heavy, the liquid shifts side to side in his hand like waves – coming just to the top of the frosted glass without spilling. Kim sees it too, and gives […]
The top of the hill. It’s like childbirth – once it’s done you forget the pain… NOT. I have never thought the simplistic AA aphorisms, “one day at time” or “one step at a time” were trite or cliché. I am reminded almost every day, that the journey from addiction to recovery is made in small, […]
The economy of Puerto Rico is worse than not good. I heard a lot about it from Gabby last night over beers at a seaside bar called La Pescaderia. I’ve been there before – in fact it is my favorite hangout in Puerto Rico. I always love to hear things from the source, and […]