About Love and Recovery

This author has not yet filled in any details.
So far Love and Recovery has created 47 blog entries.
FacebookX
24 05, 2018

All The Feels in Sobriety

2020-11-11T15:25:41-08:00May 24th, 2018|Early Sobriety, Gratitude|0 Comments

My first job out of college was an insurance adjuster position. For those of you wondering what an insurance adjuster does—they basically decide if you are going to receive any money and how much when you submit a claim to an insurance company. Wow! Just writing the description of an adjuster is quite revealing to me. I was in charge of deciding how much money people would receive from an insurance claim. It’s ironic to me because I have had issues with money my whole life. I am going to save my “money” issues post for another day. So, how do you decide if someone will receive money or not and how much money to give? You crawl under wet and mildewed houses with the mice and spiders to inspect leaky pipes. You climb rooftops to count how many shingles were stolen by the wind in the latest storm. You [...]

Read More
22 05, 2018

Surrender in Sobriety

2020-11-11T15:25:41-08:00May 22nd, 2018|Early Sobriety, Faith|4 Comments

When I was new to sobriety, I took a coffee commitment at a local 12-step meeting, where I was to make coffee for the thirsty crowd of misfits. It was a once-a-week, six-month stint which I truly adored. I had to arrive by 6 a.m. to prep for the gathering of hugging and loving that was about to take place at 6:45. I have never seen so many happy people in my life as I see at an early morning meeting. It makes me smile just thinking about it. Gratitude fills the air and hugs are the only way to greet someone. The room was quiet from about 6 to 6:30 a.m. There were a few people who would show up early to share a cup of coffee and enjoy the quiet of the morning. It was during this time that I met a very eccentric man who attended the [...]

Read More
20 05, 2018

Handling the Blessings of Sobriety

2020-11-11T15:25:42-08:00May 20th, 2018|Early Sobriety, Gratitude|0 Comments

Can you Handle the Goodness in Your Life or the Blessings of Sobriety? Ahhh…it’s Monday. And, I am coming off of a heavy soul-searching weekend. It’s going to sound silly to you when you hear the root cause that instigated this quest for inner discovery this weekend. Or maybe it won’t. Lately, I have been feeling like I am in a tornado. Literally, I have been envisioning furniture (chairs to be specific) flying at me. They are light and airy, but chairs, no less. My life feels like it is moving at such high speed, and I am in a vortex of goodness. And this tornado I describe is a tornado of abundance. Tornado of Abundance Good things are happening quickly and often. Have you ever been caught in a tornado of goodness? It’s pretty effing amazing! And a little bit unnerving at the same time. Beautiful things are coming [...]

Read More
5 04, 2018

Forget About Shoulds in Sobriety

2020-11-11T15:25:42-08:00April 5th, 2018|Early Sobriety, Faith|0 Comments

There are no "shoulds" in sobriety. I had an interesting phenomenon take place over Easter weekend that hasn’t happened to me in quite a while. I was invited to church and lunch with one of my favorite friends’ family. They are newlyweds with a young daughter whom I adore, grandparents who are a riot and just an all-around great group of people to be around. They attend a large church in Orange County. When I say large…I mean massive. It’s a church with a campus. I guess these are probably normal in big cities, but I am a small-town girl used to a small Catholic church that sits on the edge of the local senior center. I went to a workshop at their church over the course of a few Sundays, and it feels like walking into the scene from a movie production. There are extras everywhere…kids swinging and running [...]

Read More
13 02, 2018

Hope, Healing and Happiness in Sobriety

2020-11-11T15:25:42-08:00February 13th, 2018|Families Recover, Joyful Recovery|0 Comments

It's hard to believe that a family so broken could begin to mend. The mending of old wounds takes time--lots of time. But there is hope. There is something about time and aging that softens our hearts and quiets down the ego. Or maybe it is a combination of time, aging and life in sobriety that allows forgiveness to settle in and compassion to flourish. Family wounds can be deep and hard. And, if we hold onto old stories and "victim" mentalities, there may never be an opportunity to repair and rebuild relationships. Awakening to love. This weekend was filled with so much hope, healing and happiness for me. It was a weekend of awakening to love--how fitting that we are on the cusp of Valentine's Day...nothing goes unnoticed in my conscious mind. This little family of mine is exemplifying love in so many forms that I am overcome with [...]

Read More
28 01, 2018

Finding Inspiration and Purpose in Sobriety

2020-11-11T15:25:43-08:00January 28th, 2018|Faith, Purpose|0 Comments

  Guest post by Stormie J. I have been in contact with several people who are struggling lately. The severity seems to range anywhere from “there must be more to life” to “I am done with life.” I have genuine compassion for this state of mind, body and spirit as one who wrestled with self-worth to the tune of purposefully endangering myself in my teens and also battling addiction into my early thirties. What is my purpose? My way up and out of it, although incremental, was quite miraculous and yet it does not fit nor necessarily work for others. One dear friend of mine has tried nearly “everything” and still her relief has been minimal and fleeting. Whether the cause is addiction, chemical imbalance, unrequited love, co-dependency, aging or something else, there seems to be no way around these common threads--loss of inspiration and purpose, lack of self-worth and [...]

Read More
22 01, 2018

Tapping Into Spirituality

2020-11-11T15:25:43-08:00January 22nd, 2018|Faith|0 Comments

  I don't come here often enough. I live so close, yet I rarely take advantage of the majesty offered to me just a stone's throw away. Within a one-minute drive or a ten minute walk, I am literally on the beach. Every time I endure the trek, I vow to do it more often or even daily. And, yet, the days roll by once again without me going back. I see it every day. My business is located across the street from the beach, but I don't manage to get there. It doesn't take long, you know. I could walk over during lunch or in between appointments. But it sometimes feels like a chore. And, today my dog, Stitch, was staring at me longingly...a look I know too well. His eyes are so expressive. Please mom, let's just take an hour and run in the sun, interact with other, [...]

Read More
15 01, 2018

The Day I Got Sober

2020-11-11T15:25:43-08:00January 15th, 2018|Early Sobriety, Faith, Finding Me, Recovery Stories|0 Comments

  I didn’t know it at the time. I didn’t know it at the time that my life had forever changed on this day, January 14, 2014. It wasn’t until five or six days later that I even realized that January 14 should be earmarked as a momentous day. I remember sitting in my back yard smoking a Capri menthol and realizing that I hadn’t had a drink in five or six days. (Yes, I used to smoke, and I smoked those sissy cigs…Capris. They felt a little more elegant than Marlboro Reds.) It was amazing that I hadn’t had a drink, but what was even more remarkable was that I wasn’t trying to “not” drink. I simply hadn’t had one and it hadn’t crossed my mind. It felt a bit different. I wasn’t “willing” myself to not have a drink. I wasn’t white knuckling it or struggling to stay [...]

Read More
11 01, 2018

Self Discovery and Discernment in Sobriety

2020-11-11T15:25:43-08:00January 11th, 2018|Early Sobriety, Finding Me|0 Comments

  I could hear it happening from the other room. He got out of bed...well, shall I say jumped out of bed and headed for the door. Typically, he's not this spry at 5 AM. He's used to me waking around 4:30, making a pot of coffee and trying hard not to disturb his sleep. I turn on a small lamp and begin to write. This thing we do--it's a daily ritual. As I begin to write, he snuggles closer, almost burrowing into the side of me. He can't get close enough, and I just love his warmth next to me. But today is different. After I sleepily crawl back into bed to pull out my pen and begin to connect with myself and my higher power, he jumped out of bed. I can hear him. I love listening to what he's doing. His moves have recognizeable sounds associated with [...]

Read More
28 12, 2017

Rewiring My Mind and Spirit in Sobriety

2020-11-11T15:25:44-08:00December 28th, 2017|Early Sobriety, Finding Me|0 Comments

    There's this guy. I knew that would get your attention. Yes, there's this guy. Not just any guy. He's well-known among a circle of my friends. His name is Adrien. He's this handyman/painter kind of guy who works his way up and down our alley on both sides. He's been working on homes in our alley for close to 10 years. We have come to call it Adrian's alley. He has a waiting list. Everyone wants him. He can do just about anything when it comes to home repairs/maintenance and upkeep. The last time he did any work for me was about seven years ago. Besides some small projects, I really haven't done anything to my home since I bought it in 2001. This home has so many memories for me. It's a beach home and that means a lot to a small-town girl from the Arizona mountains. [...]

Read More

Title