Ice Cream for Breakfast v.13 Today I celebrate 13 years without a drink. Today, for the 13th time, I’m enjoying #IceCreamforBreakfast on my anniversary. A lot has changed over these 13 years, but one thing remains consistent. Today. Today is a reminder of those changes. I’ve enjoyed Ice Cream for Breakfast in 7 different cities. I’ve had Ice Cream for Breakfast alone in a hotel room and in an office full of folks making sundaes at 9am. I’ve had people I’ve never met join me in celebrating and eating Ice Cream for Breakfast. In these 13 years life changed in ways I never dreamed possible. I gained an unknown confidence in myself. I met and married the love of my life. I’ve moved cities, traveled, found new hobbies and interests. I’ve lost a mother, a pup, and learned to address my grief. None of these would have been possible if I were still drinking. I’ve long said, if the only thing I got out of quitting drinking was quitting drinking, I’d be severely disappointed. I’ve said this to communicate that life gets better after quitting drinking. But I look at it through a new lens 13 years later. I guess I just thought it was magic that good things were happening to me. That life was getting easier even though I was still struggling. The same way I liked to think I wasn’t responsible for my drinking, I liked to imagine I had no role in what happened to me after I quit. That life would just “work out.” Somewhere along the journey of being powerless over alcohol, I became a steward of my own well being. I realized that I couldn’t completely control my life, but I could control my elbow. And I could continue making strings of choices that would set myself up for a successful life without booze. And that just quitting drinking wasn’t enough for me. Alcohol took so much away from me and I needed it back. It was that realization back then that made alcohol no longer a choice. Saying it now, I question how much I’ve taken advantage of my second opportunity. I look at periods of laziness and bad decisions and wonder how much more I could’ve taken back over these years. And that’s what changed how I viewed my longtime mantra about being disappointed if quitting drinking was all I got out of it. What I got out of quitting drinking wasn’t the “gifts.” It was the opportunities to get those gifts. The opportunity to not blame alcohol as the reason I’m not getting those rewards. The opportunity for a new chance at life. The opportunity was the magic all along. Today I’m beyond thankful for those opportunities and am renewing my commitment to not let these things pass me by. Because 13 years later, just quitting drinking is not enough. If you’re struggling with alcohol, substances, gambling, or any other addiction, I encourage you to confront it and get the help you need. You deserve it. Life on the other side is amazing. Getting there is the battle.