What I Love About Sobriety

Do you remember your first day of sobriety?

Mine was terribly frightening and I was overwhelmed with fear, shame, and guilt. I had called a sober friend for help, and she managed to talk me into attending a 12 step meeting with her. “Just see what it’s like,” she said. While I was in a daze and fog, I agreed to go along.

The people at the meeting were chatting and welcoming everyone in —all I wanted to do was run out the doors —but didn’t. It was difficult to sit still for what seemed to be the longest hour on earth. As the meeting was ending, I felt a glimmer of hope, a sense of relief, able to breathe again.

Somewhere between hour one and 24, I made a commitment to stop destroying myself — for a day at a time. The second 24 hours seemed like years. By the third day, I stopped staring at the clock, counting the hours. As days turned into weeks I knew I was where I belonged. That day I hit bottom was not the worst day of my life — it saved my life.

With the all bumps in the road, and peaks and valleys this journey has taken me on, there is no other way to live than sober. I’ve learned so much ….especially how to ask for help. I’m still a work in progress, but I’ve grown up and am very, very blessed.