I Forget the Last Time I Forgot…

I was driving around yesterday, picking up obscure items like those things you stick to the floor of slippery tubs so you don’t fall while taking a shower and knock yourself out and drown. I saw a sign on a billboard on 28th Street. The sign read, “I Forget the Last Time I Forgot”. Brain […]

Moving the Shot Glass Collection Again…

I told Christine that I had just experienced the “move from hell.” She said, “Your last move was ‘the move from hell’ wasn’t it?” Which is kind of true, but also made me feel like my horrible moves are somehow my fault. As if I don’t have the moxie to pack my own belongings, or the […]

When the BIG Decision is Prompted By Something Small

In the end, the reason I decided to move was because of a shower curtain rod. There were lots of reasons I can list, now that the decision is made, for leaving my apartment. It was expensive. Especially given its (admittedly groovy) industrial, proletariat vibe. I never saw anyone in the halls and isolation is not good for my […]

Summer Concert Going – Drunk Vs. Sober

I went to a free concert at Meijer Gardens on the 4th of July with Cindy. She seems to be witnessing a few of my sober “firsts”. This time, it was at an outdoor, camp-chair, picnic basket kind of concert. I haven’t been to one of those sober before. In fact, an outdoor concert (once I recced the […]

Is Change Good For Addiction Recovery?

We’re moving offices. I am sitting with stacked boxes, furniture with yellow dots and Halloween decorations  too big to package (don’t ask) waiting for the movers to arrive. It’s early, and I’ve been thinking about the positive aspects of change. Especially for those of us in recovery. Cha cha cha changes… Moving brings out the unique personality […]

Over-Drinking – It’s All Fun Till Someone Runs Over a Bunny…

There is what can only be described as a “bunny infestation” in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Cute, little rabbits are living in the middle of the city. Like foxes in London or baby alligators in Jacksonville, these creatures are lovable oddities until you have to get out of your car after a long day at the office […]

The Personal Wine Cooler – Is Booze in the Closet Ever a Good Idea?

I spent a lot of the first year after I got divorced in the closet. For some reason, it felt safe for me to sit on the floor of my walk-in with a bottle of plonk and get quietly drunk, while inventorying my shoes. It’s funny, but I’ve heard a number of women in recovery say… […]

If at First You Don’t Succeed, Fix Your Ponytail and Try Again…

I am still sore from last weekend. I was in Jacksonville for four days. Two of those days started with a boot camp, exercise class with my daughter, Lauren (see big tires in photo above…) at Delta Life Fitness. Exercise and Recovery… The class began with a couple of laps around a parking lot and took place […]

How Do You Challenge Yourself? Is It Always Painful?

I have talked about this before, but I climb a set of stairs in Grand Rapids for exercise. It is part of what Craig and I call, “David’s Loop” – a walk that begins in front of David’s house, down the hill into town, over a bridge and past the statue of Jerry Ford in the […]

Have I Forgotten What It’s Like to be New to Sobriety?

I was walking with someone new to recovery this week. My mother gave me a pink canister of pepper spray for Easter, so I feel safer early morning Grand Rapids. We start out at dawn and some of the back streets are dark. Bitter Pill to Suck On… There is a look people have when […]