One Day

I wanted to go back downstairs for a cookie.  Craving cookies reminded me of how much I craved alcohol when I first got sober. I had told my first sponsor I didn’t think I could stay sober for an entire day because I craved booze so much. He pointed out that I didn’t have to.

“You have to stay sober the hours you’re awake.  If you subtract the hours you work, it’s only about eight hours you have to worry about.”

“That’s still a lot of time,” I pointed out.

“So carve it up. Go play basketball and cut two hours from that time. Go to a meeting and cut another couple hours.”

“When I’m in the car, I want to go get a beer,” I said. “It’s the transition from one place to the next, one hour to the next that gets me.”

“So figure out the route that takes you past the fewest bars. If it’s the long way around, that’s more time you’ve spent not drinking.  Keep moving during the transistions. Whatever you do, don’t spend your day thinking you never get through such a long day.”

As I thought about the cookies, I reminded myself that avoiding anything isn’t usually a daylong struggle. It’s really a few hours and some difficult transitions.

Today I’ll be grateful avoiding something ‘one day at a time’ doesn’t mean resisting it all day long.

Dogged Determination ©2018 by Ken Montrose

Dogged Determination is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/