I spent three hours yesterday lying in the Puerto Rican sun. On a lounge chair and in a bathing suit. I haven’t done that in years, but I felt the need for some Vitamin D and it was windy enough to be comfortable – not too hot. Happily, I am past the point where relaxing seaside […]
Tag Archives: stop drinking
I am currently obsessing about climbing a set of stairs. The stairs begin at a feeder road to the expressway in Grand Rapids and end, like Jack’s beanstalk, high and steep enough above the ground to disappear into the early morning mist. I am obsessing (and I don’t use that word lightly), because this staircase is a […]
In the movie La La Land, there is a “what could have been” scene. And by the time you get there, you are so enthralled with the connection between the main characters, you can’t help but hope the real outcome is some cheesy, cinematic trick. A dream sequence, perhaps? Anything, so the beloved couple really does give […]
I’m on the road, visiting addiction treatment centers and talking to professionals from every job description in the addiction field. What strikes me more than anything else is the diversity, the options one has to get and stay sober. Everything from white knuckled, twice a day AA, self policing; to 90 days or more in the […]
Ellie told me a story last night. A vignette about her sister Evie, who was mentoring a group of three-year olds at their school. She said Evie asked one little girl, “What color is an apple?” The little girl said, “Red.” Evie said, “Good. What color is the grass?” “Green!” said the little girl. Evie […]
I got an email yesterday from Johnny, with some good advice. He didn’t say it, but I think he was responding to my most recent blog posts. They have not been happy-chappy, exclamatory or even particularly positive. I have not been a champion of recovery lately. I have had a case of the January blues. […]
I joined the Grand Rapids YMCA two months ago. I just went for the first time (after 3 payments of $55) yesterday. My school of thought about exercise regimens has always been, “Do not turn up for Pilates class until you have lost 5 pounds or are an expert at Pilates.” I wouldn’t want to start an […]
I’m not finished with 2016 yet. I feel the need to recap or amalgamate or conclude. So many positive things happened this year (last year?) and I don’t feel like I’ve been properly grateful. Because it’s not like I am thankful every day for the resurrection I have experienced. I’ve been kind of busy. And […]
I’ve spent a lot of time in The Bahamas and Russia. Florida and Michigan. All of those places seem to be fueled by alcohol. I have been drunk in all of them and watched others be drunk too. In tiki-huts on the Exuma Sound, in a gondola on a St Petersburg canal (with a brown paper bag…). At Irish/Polish funerals in […]
I woke up this morning feeling like myself. I’ve been tired the last few days. Feeling “like myself”means my eyes spring open at 4:30 AM with an idea like a LED projector light over my head. This morning it was, sit up zombie style (I can go flat to sitting, rolling up vertebrae by vertebrae – Pilates […]