This morning I overslept and didn’t get out of bed until 8am, but it felt good. The day felt more like Sunday than Monday, but I knew in my soul what day it was. November 10, 1998 is the day I stopped drinking and started going to AA.

The sobriety birthday comes quietly compared to the actual birthday and pretty much goes unnoticed except by immediate family. That was day the family dynamic would change too. Mom no longer held a tumbler of wine every time you saw her and she actually went to bed instead of passing out on the loveseat in the den.

This morning I noticed my Sunshine tree wasn’t happy with the change in season. One of it’s leaves was laying in the corner on the floor and I didn’t even hear it drop. It needed more light, so I brought it to the back of the house and sat it in my studio near the double windows to receive the morning sun. I decided to feed it one more time before winter and as I was pouring water mixed with Medina over it’s dirt, I noticed a decorative stone laying on top of the dirt that said, “Write your own story.”

Seeing those words summed up what I was feeling. By removing the alcohol from the body, the mind begins to clear and you start to see your life through a cleaner lens and I didn’t like what I saw, but now I do. AA has a saying, “One day at a time”, but for me it’s been one moment at a time and one choice at a time no matter how big or how small.

This morning I plugged my phone in and laid it on the counter while waiting for the electric kettle to heat. The phone began to ring and I saw the number was work related, but I didn’t hesitate to reach over and switch the phone off. My morning time is sacred and work will wait, but it took decades to realize the value of putting my peace first.

That’s when I noticed the Sunshine tree wasn’t happy and decided to help rewrite it’s story. After 27 years of practice, I feel like the tree is in good hands. The key for my sobriety has been continually placing my life in God’s hands and following a path that wasn’t created by me, but for me. My plan landed me in the rooms of AA, but I’ve come to realize it doesn’t matter where we’ve been nearly as much as the direction we’re headed. If we don’t love the story we’re in, we can use any moment to rewrite our story.