Today is a milestone day for me in many ways. It was twenty years ago today that I began my journey of abstaining from alcohol use. That’s a total of 7305 days in all. August 10, 2002 also marked the beginning of my involvement in the recovery community, of which I am still a member. Over these two decades, I’ve realized so many things about myself and life.
The road certainly has not been an easy one. I thought in the beginning that I just had a drinking problem. As it turns out, I also had a thinking problem. I thought at first that if I quit drinking, everything else would fall in line. Such was not the case. Stopping drinking was an essential first step,,,, it had made my life unmanageable. My therapy sessions and outpatient rehab taught me the important strategies needed to stay away from that first drink. Actually working on the twelve steps has given me important life skills needed to live a joy-filled life.
Continued therapy and attendance at various recovery meetings have been vital parts of the recovery process. I also am in hopes that the experience, strength, and hope that I’m able to share is of help to others. I have learned that in addition to my alcoholism, I have codependent tendencies that proceeded my alcohol use. Learning to deal with these issues is also a life-long proposition and takes lots of work and practice.
Much has changed in my life over the past twenty years. Some of the parts of the journey have definitely not been easy. But I’ve found many blessings along the way, including those of the spiritual variety. I have had a spiritual awakening that has given me a new perspective on the way I live my life and have no regrets about any of the choices I’ve made along the path.
Such is my life and I’ve been blessed with much.
David Lee
David Lee 
Congratulations 🎉!! That’s something to be proud of!