Today marks my 2000th day of posting this blog.
That equals 5.48 years. My Microsoft Word counter at the bottom of the page shows over 438,000 words. Which translates to 1020 single-spaced pages.
So go ahead. Use the "O" word. Because that's what I am: obsessive. Once I start doing something I like it's hard for me to change. And I guess that's okay in this case.
When I started, the commitment was to do it for a year. Then, I said, oh well, let me go for another year. And it kept on from there.
Originally I thought of it as being a way to learn to write better. More in a conversational tone. Kind of like I'm talking to you. I don't use good grammar. My goal is to use the smallest words possible. To use short sentences. To communicate rather than to impress. I believe the message is what's important.
As I went on, I found that once in a while I struck a chord. Someone out there would thank me for helping them with a family member. Some who have family at TLC said it helped them feel like they were in touch. Others said it helped them understand their addict family member a little better.
I started to realize my 38 years as an active addict and alcoholic was more than a library of war stories. That I could tell others how I got through the challenges of recovery.
How people quit enabling me. How I didn't change until I had enough pain. How powerless we are over the addicts in our lives. Those are the blogs that get the most feedback.
And for that reason I'll sit down at the computer again tomorrow. Maybe I won't know what to write about.
But I plan to be there.
