- Drugs
- Faith
- Friends & Family
I am a person in long-term recovery and what that means to me is I have been drug free for over eight years. I started using at age twelve and couldn’t stop. Using was a lifestyle to me because I started it so young I just thought that was what everyone did. It was really fun at first, hanging with my friends and getting high and going to concerts.
Then, I found heroin at age seventeen and my life started to go downhill. Nothing was important to me but using drugs. During this whirlwind I became pregnant and that didn’t stop me from using either. I had my daughter in active addiction.
I have been in and out of treatment for years until I finally threw my hands up and gave myself to recovery. The life I was living was disgusting. I was done with the pain and the shame of addiction. I am a proud wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend and CEO of The McShin Foundation (Virginia’s Leading Recovery Community Organization). Recovery has changed my life around completely and I am truly grateful for all of it. And because of McShin being there to guide me in my early recovery when I was completely helpless and broken, I am able to live a very happy life today.
To be able to get up, go to work, take care of my family and others is amazing. Eight years ago, I never thought my life would be where it is today. Now my daughter is thirteen years old and I have a five-year-old son that has never had to see me use! Being their mom and watching them live their lives is priceless.
One of the biggest things I struggle with in recovery is control! I have learned that I can’t control everyone & everything that comes through my path. Wanting everyone to be ok is a gift, but to what expense on my sanity? To deal with this I have learned to let go and let people in my life be where they are. I have come to realize life is just too precious to try to micro manage every detail of it. When this comes up I “Pause, Breathe, and Pray.”
Life today is pretty fulfilling. To have inner peace and acceptance of who I am is satisfying to me. I am fortunate to work around new people in recovery daily. It is truly a calling for me and I am very passionate about this career. I share with those new to recovery to just hold on, don’t use no matter what, and love themselves. What I have discovered from this journey of recovery is how to trust in my God, love myself and others, and be present in the moment. That is my key to recovery!