Today, Saturday, August 5th, 2023 marks the 1,460th consecutive morning that I’ve woken up with a clear head. Four years sober. It hasn’t always been easy, but I can honestly say it’s been a lot easier than the life I was living prior to August 5th, 2019. 

I won’t get into the details because that’s not the point. The point is that maybe you’re reading this and saying to yourself, Ya know… last night was rough. Maybe the past few nights, weeks, months, years have been rough and you’re ready to stop, but you don’t know how. 

If that’s the case, I know exactly what you’re going through. I’ve been right there in that same spot and I can tell you that there is hope, there is help, and there is a way out. Again, it’s not easy, but it gets easier. It gets better. 

Today I can wake up and I can be there for my family - for my wife and my sons and my step kids and my father. I can be a good husband and a good dad and a good son. I’m not saying I’m perfect, but I’ve allowed myself the chance to be present for them and for myself. And I’ve never been more grateful for anything in my entire life. 

Gratitude is the key, I’ve found. If I’m not grateful for the things I have and the things I’ve been so freely given, then what actually do I have? Not much. I used to take so much for granted. I felt that the universe owed me something, for whatever reason. Now I’ve realized it’s me who owes, dnd I remind myself that every single day. Again, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but I find myself making the best of most of it. 

Just yesterday, a friend and coworker shared this song by Noah Kahan called “Orange Juice.” I’m not sure she even knew, at the time, that I’m sober, and I KNOW she didn’t know that my sobriety date was the very next day, but man, this song hit me like a ton of bricks! I’ve shared it below, give it a listen, if only for the fact that Noah Kahan is incredible. 

So I’ll end by saying thank you. Thank you to my wife and to my children and to my dad and to my sisters and to my friends and my employer and coworkers and everyone who has been there for me, one day at a time. I appreciate all of you more than I’ll ever fully be able to express. And to the person reading this who’s struggling, drop me a note, we’ll chat… And maybe you’ll find that we have more in common than you think.. And maybe you’ll find that there is a better life out there and that you deserve it. 

As for me, I’ll have an Orange Juice… Much love.