Adventures in Sobriety

I never would have thought I’d have an opportunity like this again.  The end of my drug use, and even for the most part the first 3 years I’ve been sober, have been pretty uninteresting and I have actually become pretty resistant to change.  Variation kind of freaks me out.  I feel so secure in my little rut.  This week though, I’ve had to travel to the Central Valley of California to a huge farm show for work, something outside of my usual comfort zone, and I’ve been happily expanding my vistas.

It turned out that the city we are staying in is 3 short hours from Yosemite Valley – my favorite place on earth – and somewhere I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity to see in the foreseeable future.  But as I was planning the trip I happened to notice how close it was and that we had an unscheduled 10 hours.  How could I resist.  I also decided that considering how hard we’re working and the fact that I won’t have a real day off at home in well over a week that the least the company could do is buy me lunch.  At one of my favorite restaurants.  At the Ahwahnee Hotel.  Four courses of glorious, glorious food in the most beautiful dining room with the most extraordinary view in America.

I feel alive again.  I feel alive and I feel like – this may not make sense.  I feel like there must be a Higher Power, not because someplace like Yosemite was created, but that I was created to appreciate how beautiful it is.  (He restoreth my soul.)

And just this minute I figured out that it will only take an hour longer to go home if we go by way of San Francisco, where we actually have time to spend 7 hours and still be on schedule for going home.  So I’m going to San Francisco, and hopefully I’ll get to have lunch with one of the sober friends I’ve made from blogging.  I haven’t been this curious or flexible or adventurous in a long time.  I never could have been having this experience if I hadn’t gotten sober and I am really enjoying myself.  Today, again, I am really grateful to be sober.