The 16 year sobriety anniversary that could have happened.

THE 16-YEAR SOBRIETY ANNIVERSARY THAT COULD HAVE BEEN

August 27th could have marked 16 years sober for me.

That is strange to think about.

Sixteen years ago, I had an opportunity to quit drinking. Looking back today, I can clearly see what I couldn’t see then.

I wasn’t ready.

I knew drinking was creating problems in my life, but knowing something and being willing to do something about it are two very different things.

I still believed I could figure alcohol out. Maybe I could cut back. Maybe I could control it. Maybe I could change the way I drank without actually giving it up.

I wanted the consequences to stop.

I just wasn’t ready for the drinking to stop.

I WASN’T READY TO SURRENDER

For a long time, alcohol had a place in just about everything. Good times, bad times, celebrations, stress, weekends—you name it.

That’s what happens when drinking becomes so normalized. Eventually, you stop questioning the alcohol and start questioning yourself.

That’s one reason Normalize Sobriety means so much to me today.

We’ve normalized drinking long enough.

Why shouldn’t we normalize saying, “I don’t drink anymore”?

Why shouldn’t we celebrate the person who chooses recovery?

Why shouldn’t living sober be just as normal as drinking?

DO I REGRET THOSE YEARS?

Yes. I do.

I’m not going to pretend otherwise.

There are things from my past I wish I could change. There are decisions I wouldn’t make today. There are people I hurt, opportunities I missed, and years that I spent living a life I wouldn’t choose today.

But here’s the other side of it:

If it wasn’t for my past, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

My past made me who I am.

The mistakes taught me. The consequences changed me. The hard times humbled me.

Eventually, all of it brought me to a place where I was finally willing to accept that I needed a different way of living.

Would I recommend taking the road I took?

Absolutely not.

But it’s the road I traveled.

And I’m fine with that.

I can’t change a single day behind me. What I can do is make those days mean something by how I choose to live today.

SIXTEEN YEARS LATER

It’s easy to look at August 27th and wonder what life would look like if I had stayed sober from that day forward.

But I don’t want to spend my sobriety wishing for a different past.

That past is part of my story.

Without it, maybe I wouldn’t have the perspective I have today. Maybe I wouldn’t understand the person walking into recovery scared, confused, angry, or not completely convinced they’re ready.

I’ve been that person.

That’s part of why I talk about recovery openly today.

Somebody else might be standing where I stood 16 years ago.

Maybe they’re not ready yet.

Maybe something they read today plants a seed they’ll remember later.

That’s another reason I want to Normalize Sobriety.

Not because recovery makes our past disappear.

Because recovery gives us the opportunity to do something meaningful with it.

August 27th could have been my 16-year sobriety anniversary.

It wasn’t.

Do I regret parts of the journey?

Yes.

Would I erase everything that happened if it meant erasing the person those experiences helped me become?

No.

My past is my past.

My recovery is today.

And I’m pretty damn grateful for the person I have become.

Normalize Sobriety.

Keep it Clean. Keep it Simple.

And we will see you tomorrow.