Getting High on Recovery

I sat down at my laptop and it seemed like minutes went by. And then it hit me: “Where did the time go?” I checked Facebook, made coffee, fixed some older blog posts, drank my coffee and ate a couple of mini doughnuts, and I thought a lot about how I don’t have anything original to say. 

• • •

There it is. In that one short paragraph, I was able to summarize the past 4 months of my life.

Bear with me if this post seems a little scattered today. I’m trying to do less editing and just let the ideas flow. Less editing works with other things too… Unless you are at work, or with other people (that you care about).

1.I hate taking vitamins. My wife is buying some expensive order-online vitamins that come pre-packaged and I have to eat them. Apparently really good vitamins taste like dirt and compost. I take them because they are good for me, but I don’t like it.

2.The people who say that it takes only 21 days to make a new habit lied to you. And me. It took me less than an hour to dislike exercise today and eat my way through half a package of mini donuts.

3.Donuts are more fun the older you get.

4.Exercise is so good for you that it is like wine. Let it sit for a while and as it ages, it gets better.

5.Don’t believe it when people say that when your kids turn 18, they are less work. They just get more expensive. And they need you even more. For rides. For ‘advice’ that they won’t take anyway. For food. For ‘coffee’ that turns into a hamburger. For hugs (mostly for the parents).

6.Work is more fun when you are off your medication. Not that I would ever do that. (Have fun at work)

7.Laughter can burn calories and take years off you. But when you eat donuts while laughing, it makes you cry. And that is sad.

8.Acceptance is one of the most powerful things you can do. It will change your life. I’m still working on this one, I’m having a little trouble with step one: Acceptance.

9.It’s funny sitting next to your wife… you know when your wife takes an extra 15 seconds to get jokes. It’s funny. Because as you get older you have a shorter attention span. By the time she gets it, I managed to forget the joke and then she laughs. And then I laugh. Again.

10.Your mind is not always a friendly place. Sometimes you can be your own worst critic, friend and mentor. Our minds are set up to hang onto the irritating things and forget the fun and happy stuff. You have to invest time to make your mind a good place to hang out. Care for it like you care for your back yard, your man-cave, your cool basement or your nice office.

11.Related to #4 – Making fun of your teenagers never gets old. My son is 18. But he is now, finally, admitting that he is not really an adult. He says that he is a ‘Millennial.’ Nope. That is not it. He’s a Chadult. A child-adult. Or maybe a superhero: “Boyman.”

12.This post is dedicated to my friend Ken. Because he likes to read what I write during meetings. When he told me that, it made my day. I thought that I would return the favor and do the same thing in my meetings. But then I realized that he doesn’t write a blog. He is one of those friends who every time you see them, you just feel better about things… and he is cheaper than hiring a therapist. We all need friends like that.

There you have it. Hope that your today is the best today that it can be.

Where you can, work to make your stuff a little better. Accept what you can’t change. And then accept what feels too difficult to change. And mostly, accept how easy it is to distract yourself.

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Keep it Real

Photo by Camylla Battani on Unsplash