Tag Archives: women’s health

Marking 3 Years of Sober Bliss…

My husband used to enumerate at cocktail parties, the number of years of “wedded bliss” we had endured. With his English accent and studied, straight face it was obvious he was being ironic. We had some great times, but it was not all familial rapture: no marriage is without its ups and downs. I was never […]

Found on Facebook – 5 Ways to Explain the Drunk Years…

Whatever happened to unlisted phone numbers and secrets? I heard from an old boyfriend the other day. Does anybody else get Facebook private messages, where people you haven’t heard from in years start a conversation without preamble? I have now had every past relationship of merit check in with me on social media. It reminds me […]

The Degrees of Gratefulness…

Do you ever think to yourself, “Ok, I did some lousy stuff when I was drinking, but just how much do I have to atone for my bad behavior, and for how much longer?” I mean I’m not the only one who was prideful or wasteful or an unpleasant drunk, right? Enough is enough – […]

Training My Brain to Think Positive…

  I was thinking about how easy it is to go from positive to negative thoughts. It’s almost like a default with me. Everything coming up roses? Focus on the dirt. I am actually training myself to think in a positive manner, by doing some brain exercises at work. We are implementing My Brain Solutions  and I […]

Plow Horse Therapy

I’m not talking about Equine Therapy, folks. A few weeks ago, I was at an old-fashioned country fair in Ellsworth, Michigan and they had what was billed as a “horse pull” in a park on the outskirts of town. If you have never seen a horse pull before, it involves teams of enormous, draft horses; […]

Put Down the Camera and Enjoy Your Sobriety Real-Time…

By looking into the photos on my phone I can see that I am walking in the woods…   …Marilyn. Recently, I have noticed I am so busy trying to capture how awesome I have become, now that I’m sober, my phone or camera seems to get a better experience than I do. It started with the […]

Recovery Question Number 1: Are You Happy?

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 […]

Don’t You Want Your Badass Friends to be Sober?

  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 […]

8 Reasons to Give a Wide Berth to the Summer Booze Cruise…

  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 […]

So I’m Beachside in This Tiki Bar…

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 […]