I’ve been recovering from the effects of the flu which has been running rampant in my neighborhood. Yes, I dutifully get my flu shots every fall, wipe down the grocery cart with a towelette at the grocery store, and stay arm’s length from any sniffling, sneezing life forms. Even as I suffer flu symptoms, I remember the days of yore when Larry was too healthy to get flu shots and then Larry became a poster boy for death warmed over. The bug got me and put me down for a two to three-week bed-ridden vacation.
I now get flu shots religiously and if I do get sick, there are just a few mild symptoms. More bothersome is the weakness and lethargy. Old guys like me know time is becoming a more valuable commodity and we don’t like running at less than 100%. Well, OK, even 80% is pretty darned good. So much hell to raise and just not enough time to do it.
Alright, alright. So, there ain’t much hell raising anymore, but a guy can dream, can’t he? Looking back on the antics of me, the 20 to 30 year-old drunk, makes me realize how much of a nightmare I was for the people who loved me. Family, lovers, friends…..they all suffered through my disease with me. They went to hell with me and by God’s grace they came back a long time before that grace brought me back. Tonight I celebrate 37 years of continuous sobriety and nothing, absolutely nothing, in my life takes precedence over sobriety and the relationship I have enjoyed with my Higher Power. Money, prestige, power, fancy cars, big house, designer clothes, community social status…..nothing can compare to the status I have found as a child of God, as a man committed to sober-living.
Even when the mind says, “go, go, go” but the body says, “no, no, no,” I have an enormous gratitude list that seems to grow every day. I appreciate the days when even 80% is all I can muster. The slowdown gives me time to read, time to just talk on the phone with a friend, time to sit on the porch and entertain the cardinals stopping by for a visit, and time to yell at the top of my lungs, “Thank you Jesus.”
It’s been one helluva ride and I can’t wait to see what the next couple decades will bring. Naw, don’t have time for worrying and fretting over politics, over the economy, over North Korea’s Kim, nor over America’s Trump. Those problems will be resolved according to God’s timing, not mine. Of course, if the big fella upstairs wants some advice, I’ve got a few ideas.
Stay sober, my friends. One day at a time. If you don’t drink that first one, you won’t get drunk. One is too many and ten is not enough. Keep it simple, stupid, and remember g.o.d. – good, orderly direction.
If you’re sober today, give your Higher Power a hand.
lpb quest - the twilight dance 