Betty Smithsonian

What in the lord?
Today I celebrate 25 years sober from drugs and alcohol. This ju**ie drug addict alcoholic hasn’t had to drink one day at a time for 25 years. Holy Moshe!

I went to my very first AA meeting in Bed-Stuy on this date 25 years ago. I had just moved from Boston, and was already getting kicked out of the apartment I was renting. I called my therapist to see if there were some meds she could give me to try and make the pain stop. She said she would write me a script for something, but only if I first went to an AA mtg. So I went.

That very first meeting someone told me they were glad I was there and that everything was going to be ok. And I believed her. I have no idea why I believed her. Maybe because I was so tired and hurt and she seemed so confident and happy. But she gave me some hope. And that moment has infused itself into my brain body heart and soul or some gay s*t. That mustard seed of hope has been here for 25 years. Damnnnnnnnn.

I’m grateful af. Happy joyous and free. Thankful for my incredible wife Lisa, and our extremely sweet son Mateo, and my AA squad, my chosen family and born to family.
I’m so grateful for all my small and big resentments and all the people out there who have brought me opportunities to grow and let go and move on, as hard as it can be.

Despite being drenched in grief, I am still fully immersed in the world of joy, and sharing as many joyballs as I can, wherever I can share them. How is that even possible??! It’s wild what a little hope can do. God is good.

If you’re reading this and you’re hurting from drugs and alcohol, I promise you there is a solution. You don’t have to be in pain anymore. You don’t have to live in misery. There is a way out. And the life that awaits; it’s beyond your wildest dreams. I promise you.

Since I have you here I’ll also share, I’m super grateful for slow motion sports highlights reels, Cadbury mini-eggs and cinnamon buns.

Go birds. I’ll keep coming back. Thanks for letting me share.