Topic: One day, One Hour, One Moment at a Time
In just a few days (God willing!) I will be celebrating 8 years of sobriety. When I think back to the very beginning of this journey, I recall being a white knuckler – i.e., it was a struggle to just get through the day. Between 4pm and dinnertime was the hardest because this was when I would normally dive into my liquid serenity, just to ‘take the edge off’. For many years, I would only skip this ritual if I was in a place where alcohol just wasn’t available. By design, I didn’t let that happen often.
So these 2-3 hours every day were challenging to say the least, the ‘edge of life’ was very hard to deal with booze-free. Going out for dinners with family members that made me anxious and reaching for the drink was especially challenging. I would watch everyone order their drinks and have myself an inner pity party, green with envy.
What got me through that first year was two things. First, I kept my hands busy with a hot cup of tea instead of a wine glass, and second was the expression that I read and heard a lot: take it one day at a time. I had to dig a little deeper during the rough hours, telling myself if I can just get through this one hour or this one moment, I could make it to dinner and then eventually to bed without alcohol. Honestly, if I had to accept that I would never be able to drink again I’m not sure I would have stuck with it.
AA is filled with so many helpful people and tools, but I’m so grateful that I had the sense to focus on this concept of time in the early days. That is truly how I managed to stay sober. I’ve learned so much more on this rich journey, but were it not for the simple basic lessons learned at the beginning I might not be here today. And, I’m happy to report that with enough days, hours, moments of sobriety, my knucles eventually returned to a healthy skin tone 😊.
Wherever you are in your sobriety journey, how important is taking life one day, one hour, one moment at a time? I’m ready for your stories ladies!
Grateful for all of you,
Susan P.