I know, my blog isn’t the most lively thing on the internet. It’s a good reminder for me to come back and review how things were, especially the part where I tell my story. I read that a couple of times a year just to remember. I also will share the story with those in need, many times virtually through online friends that ask for help, and sometimes in person when the subject comes up.
What a year this has been. Politics aside, the quarantine and the “stay home” orders would have pushed me over the edge eleven years ago. I mean, really, what do you do when you have to sit around at home for 18 hours a day? Yeah, no kidding, I did that pretty good for thirty years.
I mentioned last year (or the year before) that we had packed up and moved to the beach. My kids are off at college and are doing just great. My wife packed up from everything she knew and moved 1000 miles away from her family. We moved from the Chicago area and ended up in a beach town in South Carolina – the response to the pandemic in South Carolina is pretty different from Chicago, believe you me. One of my (now) adult children is in grad school in Chicago and she’s pretty down on how they’ve closed up just about everything there. So, all in all, pretty glad that we’re here instead of there. I haven’t felt the temptation to drink in a long time, yet sitting home all day long and not being able to go outside due to the cold/weather/etc.? Yeah, not the best ingredients for sobriety. I’m still very much a ODAT kind of guy and don’t get stressed out about tomorrow.
My kids were home from college from about this time last year until the fall when they went back to college – and God Bless them both, a lot of the classes are still virtual. Kind of crazy that they’re both living in an apartment near campus and not spending all that much time on campus. My son is dealing with it a lot better than my daughter, she needs the social network in-person interactions require, so would be great if you’d say a prayer for her. I know everybody is dealing with this – parents & kids everywhere. Be thankful, my friends, for your kids. God knows I had every opportunity to screw up my kids with my drinking, yet I’ve been blessed with two incredible children. I’ve posted about this before (you know, in one of about the 20 or so posts I’ve made in the last 11 years), but I realized that when I stopped drinking that my purpose in life was to be here for my children. I’ll die a happy man knowing that my kids have a good start in life. And, believe it or not, I don’t really want to go tomorrow. 11 years ago? I was ready to go – ready to give up on life, to give up on all the “hard things” in life. I’m so thankful that period of my life is long in the past.
So, you know, the kids were here all last summer. We stuck around the house for the most part, hit up the beach some, and generally kept a low profile. I’m still working, and worked myself into a consulting gig where it’s easy to work from home. Pre-Covid I probably worked from home 80% of the time. For the last year its been 100%, so my work life hasn’t really changed too much. The business is such that we can do it from anywhere, yet it’s a lot nicer to work from the beach. I actually had a lot of phone calls from the pool last summer. Made it a little more difficult when folks wanted to video share, lol.
We also have a new addition to the family. We’ve always had dogs and have always said, “never again”. The house near the beach is quite the house – really, it’s a magazine-quality house and both of our dogs had passed before we moved to SC. We were here for about a year before thinking about getting a new dog. My wife really groves to the magazine-quality house and I was pretty sure that she was not up for a dog. You know, they pee, they poop, they shed. And sometimes (gasp!) they chew on stuff. Well, guess what my wife bought me for Christmas last year? A dog lease and a dog collar. Yay! I was very pleasantly surprised… (as an aside, this is a perfect example of what a great, great, great wife I have – she knew that I missed having a four-legged friend). So, yeah, I was surprised. But not so surprised that I didn’t start researching where to find the right pal.
A few days after Christmas 2019 I had identified a breeder in Ohio and we were lined up for a pup from a 12/30 whelp date. We picked up a baby German Shepherd in February of 2020 and have had Dixie for just over a year. Man, let me tell you, Dixie is a sweet dog. Kind to people, good with other animals, has *never* chewed on anything she isn’t supposed to (except me), and has very rarely had accidents in the house. I’m sure that some of that is because we were both here and could walk her every two hours when she first joined the family. She quickly became crate trained and house broken and we used the crate for seven or eight months. Now? She sleeps at the foot of the bed, and sometimes sleeps in the bed. All in all, a great addition to the family.
I hope you’re getting the sense that I now enjoy life. I’ll be 56 in two weeks and never thought that I’d make it (or want to make it) this far. I’m thrilled beyond words that my kids are doing so well, that my wife has embraced the move south, and that every day is a new adventure. I’m really trying to enjoy the new town, going out and trying new things, and have dusted off some hobby’s as well. All in all, life is good. Why? For me, it was AA and a very select group of great guys that helped me to understand that I was not alone.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for helping to keep me sober today.
Dan