- Alcohol
How long have you been in recovery?
The first my twelve step meeting I went to was about seven or eight years ago. I went back and forth with my twelve step meeting for a number of years. I would go in, then I would go back out. Then one day I went to a treatment center and I actually interviewed the director to see if I needed to go into their program because I wasn’t having any success with my twelve step meeting. I said, “I’m not ready for that.” So I went back and continued to drink. Then I was coming home over Mother’s Day from Washington D.C.; I flew back, and on the way home, I had a wreck near my house, where I got arrested for drunk driving and had to have my daughters come bail me out of jail. That incident caused me to back to that director and tell her I was ready.
What was it that made it so hard for you to stay in recovery and made you keep bouncing in and out?
I think a lot of things. One was that I thought I was too smart for recovery. I wasn’t drinking. I thought I was getting better, but I wasn’t working the program at all. I first went into my twelve step meeting and I would just attend meetings. I wasn’t doing anything else. I didn’t have a sponsor. Then I got a sponsor and I kind of worked the steps, but I was never that serious about it. I always had it in my mind that I was kind of different.
What changes have you noticed in your life since you actually started working the program?
I can get up and be functional. I was at this 6K race helping to set up at 6:00 this morning. I’m just much happier. I’m happier throughout each day. I’m much more at peace.