Happy 21st Re-Birthday!

Today is a very special day.  Today my papa celebrates 21 years of sobriety.  Twenty-one years ago today he took his last drink.  This day twenty-one years ago he decided that he was no longer slave to the alcohol that had held him captive for so many years.  What started as a fun first drink with the guys as a young boy, ended in the halls of a rehab facility all by himself.  He didn't wake up 40 something years ago and say "I want to be an alcoholic" but with that first drink, the desire to have just one more set in.  It set in and it took up residence in our home just as much as the family dog. 

He tells the story of getting off work and stopping at the gas station by work and getting a can of beer to get him home.  But he made 2, sometimes 3 more stops before he even made it home.  He'd drink himself to sleep most nights and wake up the next morning in a pool of sweat.  Each morning, he'd look in the mirror and say that was the last time he'd wake up feeling like that.  But each afternoon, he ended up at the same gas station, getting the same beer, waking up with the same results. 

If my memory serves me correct, my mom was the one to give him the information of a treatment facility where he could begin his journey to sobriety.  My dad embarked on his journey to sobriety that day. 

He was checked in to Cumberland Heights for 6 weeks, I think.  It seemed more like 6 months for me, but I was just a little girl so time was a hard concept.  I remember going to visit him on the weekends.  It was a peaceful place. It was quiet.  It was set in the Tennessee Hills, quite a distance from home.  We'd fly a kite.  We'd have lunch.  We'd do 'family things'.  Mom would attend Alanon and I'd attend alateen.  It was nice. 

Twenty-one years ago, I would have never believed that he'd be where he is now.  I would have never believed that WE would be where we are today.  Today, he is my hero.  Today, I'm a daddy's girl.  Today, my dad has been sober 21 years.  What a true miracle.  God is so good.

So, today, Papa, today and tomorrow and the rest of my life, I will be proud of you.  Proud of where you came from, and proud of where you are.  Proud of the father you are.  Proud of the man you are.  Today I'm also thankful that mom took the steps to get you the treatment that saved your life.  I wouldn't change our past if given the opportunity because I have learned so much from you and from your recovery.

I love you Papa, and I'm so proud of you.

Papa's text reads "21 years no drink.  God is so good to me"

TO GOD BE THE GLORY, GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!