Lynn,

I love your mindset. You are so strong. Thank you for sharing more about your loss. I am sure there are other people who will benefit from what you wrote.

I like how you said everyone has their own reason why. I also love how you were honest with yourself. Honesty with self is no easy task, especially when addiction is involved. Awesome work.

Take care,

Ashley

Ashley,

Thank you. The new job was not in my plans for retirement. This job has shown me one more benefit of my sobriety. Thankfully, I was many years sober when I retired. If not, I would have settled into retirement and most likely dove deeper into alcohol. “What am I missing out on” would have never crossed my mind. I'm 56. There's plenty of time for a real retirement. :)

The loss of both parents has been tough. A month shy of my one-year quit date, my mother suffered a brain injury in a fall and never regained consciousness. I was so angry at the way in which she died, all I wanted to do is drink. The stress, pressure, and grief didn’t help. It had been almost a year since I had drank so I was gaining confidence in handling life’s disappointments without the aid of something in a bottle. I am a very disciplined person in every aspect of my life, except with alcohol. I KNEW if I had one drink, it wouldn’t be long before I was back to drinking every night.  

My dad didn’t pass from an injury, but it was completely unexpected. In less than two weeks, he went from being healthy to being admitted to the hospital for pneumonia, to the ICU, and passing away. This was in April and I was sober for almost 7 years. Knowing I can live without alcohol made it easier to say no this time. That doesn’t mean I didn’t want it though. 

I wish there were a magic formula for staying sober. I don’t think it exists because everybody has their own “why.” For me, my “why” is I don’t want to live the life of someone who needs to drink every night. I was, and continue to be, honest with myself and know that one drink will most likely lead me back to being an everyday drinker. The experiences with my mom and dad have shown me the pull of alcohol will always be there. Thankfully, my “why” is stronger. 

I will be forever grateful to this site for providing words of insight and encouragement. Thank you once again!

Lynn

Welcome back Lynn!

It's so great to hear from you. Congratulations on your dream job and quit anniversary. Both sound like they are life changing achievements!

I'm very sorry to hear about your parents. I cant imagine the pain of such big losses. I'm so glad that quitting drinking allowed you to spend more time with your dad. I'm also impressed you have managed to stay sober through it all. Great work! Did you find grief to be a trigger at all for you?

What has kept you so dedicated to sobriety? I'm sure newer members would love to read more wisdom from you.

Take care,

Ashley

Hello, everyone. Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been here. I came out of retirement and have been enjoying my dream job. Life happened along the way too. I lost my dad in April to pneumonia. For an 82-year-old man, he was healthy, until he wasn’t. He got sick and two weeks later he passed away. I lost my mom to a head injury in 2016, they had been married for 56 years. 

Things have been tough but I’m still sober. I didn’t realize I missed my stop date anniversary until I was reading through some old post. August 3, 2015. I still consider it one of the best days of my life. I spent a lot of time with my dad after my mom passed. Time that I probably wouldn’t have spent with him if I had been drinking. 

It’s good to be back. I hope to become a regular here again. Positive thoughts for everyone!

Lynn