Believe the Unbelievable...

     It is an incredible roller coaster of emotions that I am feeling today as I address the readers in the Kingdom of Blog.  The fact that I am writing this at all is a miracle in itself.  I am completely humbled and fighting back tears as I continue to write on this truly momentous occasion in my personal life.  As some of you know, I am a recovering alcoholic and addict.  I say recovering because the fight never ends for me.  To say that I have conquered my addictions would be a lie and would undermine all the hard work that the people who helped and supported me through the years have put in.  To say I won would open the door to that feeling that I have done enough and that a drink now and then might not be a bad idea.  I got this thing licked?  NO! and I never will.  I will never give in to those substances that controlled and almost took my life years ago.  I will always stay vigilant and deal with it as I do everything in my life that tries to overwhelm me...one day at a time.

     Today marks 25 years that I have remained clean and sober...It would be easy to take the credit for it, but I know it wouldn't be true.  I never could have done a thing without the help and support of friends and family and most of all by the Grace of God.  The song below (Rascal Flatts "I'm Movin On") came out in 2000... (I had moved to New York State in 1999) and it still means everything to me.  I had lived in New Jersey my whole life...but I couldn't anymore. When I agreed to go back in 2005, the feelings returned.  The guilt and the self-loathing and the "familiar" places.  All I could see were "the years passing by."  By 2008, I had decided to get "movin' on" and packed up my stuff and moved to Arizona. I had "made up my mind that those days were gone".  I found the life that had been waiting for me all those years...
                                   
                                     I'm Movin' On
                                      Rascall Flatts

            I've dealt with my ghosts and faced all my demons
                    Finally content with a past I regret
         I've found you find strength in your moments of weakness
                 For once I'm at peace with myself
    I've been burdened with blame, trapped in the past for too long
                                     I'm movin' on

                I've lived in this place and I know all the faces
             Each one is different but they're always the same
            They mean me no harm but it's time that I face it
                    They'll never allow me to change
    But I never dreamed home would end up where I don't belong
                                    I'm movin' on

                                     I'm movin' on
           At last I can see life has been patiently waiting for me
           And I know there's no guarantees, but I'm not alone
                 There comes a time in everyone's life
             When all you can see are the years passing by
         And I have made up my mind that those days are gone

               I sold what I could and packed what I couldn't
                  Stopped to fill up on my way out of town
                    I've loved like I should but lived like
                                   I shouldn't
                  I had to lose everything to find out
    Maybe forgiveness will find me somewhere down this road
                                   I'm movin' on

                                  I'm movin' on
                                  I'm movin' on

25 years! Believe the Unbelievable! How does a recovering alcoholic celebrate a milestone like this? By not having a drink today and remembering how it was before and how great it is now..To all of you that have played a role in this incredible journey, I cannot begin to thank you enough.  God Bless.

For The Times They Are A-Changin'

                                       Come gather 'round, people
                                            Wherever you roam
                                         And admit that the waters
                                          Around you have grown
                                           And accept it that soon
                                     You'll be drenched to the bone
                                    If your time to you is worth savin'
                                        And you better start swimmin'
                                          Or you'll sink like a stone
                                     For the times they are a-changin' 
     
This Bob Dylan song...(released in 1964) is the theme for the triumphant return of the Artful Blogger!  Greetings and salutations to all in the blogging universe.  It has truly been a LONG TIME since I bored...(I mean informed) you last of my comings and goings here on Planet Earth.  It was on May 31, 2019 to be exact!  A lot of water (time) has passed under the bridge and I felt the need to bring you up to date.  And since all of us are literally shut-ins now, perhaps the ramblings of yours truly will provide a little needed entertainment...(in between home-schooling, snacking, napping, snacking again, binge watching Netflix and breakfast, lunch and dinner).  Whoever decided that gyms were a non-essential business should be tarred and feathered.  The "quarantine fifteen" is the true threat to Americans, not the Corona Virus.  How are we going to return to work when we won't be able to tie our shoes (or even see our feet!)?  Can't go to the gym...can't go to the park...in some states, you can't even go outside! But the silver lining is that the golf courses in Arizona are open!!  Yes, it is is golf "Valhalla" here in the Great Southwest.  You get your own cart, you can't rake the bunkers (they took the rakes) and you can bring coolers on the course (they took the water).  If they had closed the courses, I might have been using my clubs for other things...(like knocking some sense into the toilet paper hoarders, the people who wear masks in their own car, or the people who gather out of the house to tell you to stay in the house). But, lucky for those people, the courses are open and I am enjoying it.  

                                   Come gather, ROUND people
                                           Alone in your home
                                     And admit that the waistline
                                         Around you has grown
                                      And accept that your pants
                                      Will be stretched to the bone
                                  If your figure to you is worth savin'   
                                       And you better start dietin'
                                       Or you'll gain several stone
                                    For the scales they are complainin'

     My apologies to Mr. Dylan for screwing with his song, but I needed to channel my inner Weird Al Yankovic.  Also, the reference to stone above...14 pounds equals 1 stone (European).  I was going to rant on about my conspiracy beliefs concerning the present state of affairs in our country but this blog would probably be taken down and I might be investigated... so I'll save it for a future blog! :)  Nancy and I continue to work (Thank you, Jesus!).  As "essential employees" I am still working my shifts at the Hyatt and she is working the take out/curbside shifts at the restaurant along with part time at the Country Club (Yea, Golf!).  The hotel is closed (still unsure of the reopen date) but security has to be here and so here I am.  We converted our garage into a workout space and with the temperatures hitting 100+ already, it's like a hot yoga studio with weights.  I am inspired...(see above lyrics) and will persevere to not increase my "rear".  We continue to eat healthier...for the most part.  Elective surgery is making a comeback in May and hopefully Nancy can get her shoulder surgery (torn rotator cuff).  I remain healthy...(the usual aches and pains of advancing age. but having the mind of a child seems to offset it for the most part).  I am so grateful for the many blessings God has bestowed on me.  And in these challenging times gratitude and humility need to replace selfishness and complaining.  Count your blessings.  We will get through this.  Enjoy your families.  Praise God and say thanks for another day.

                                  Don't gather round people
                                     Stay in your own home
                                     And admit that this crisis
                                        Will be over and gone
                                       And accept it that soon
                                     Another problem will come 
                               If your freedom to you is worth savin'
                                     And you better start resistin'
                                      These Communist drones
                                 For the times they are a-changin"

God Bless all of you!