Can You See Me
To be seen means feeling recognized and accepted for who I amNo judgmentFreedom to be who I was always designed to beExpressing my uniqueness, talents, dreams, and charismaBeing my own Drag QueenA King or QueenWhatever my parts wanted to expressGoing with the flow of...
Rights
God lead me to recovery it opened a world of discoveries...Recovery gave me back my rights, no longer walking through life, full of fear and always up-tight...Realizing I had the right to be wrong without those hunting thoughts repeating, "You don't belong."I have the...
Sobriety is the Limit
Years ago, I discovered the notion of limits, and the fact that I had none. I learned to set one.A friend attending regularly a 12-Step meeting was in dire straits: years ago, she had left a violent husband, and was by then living on social welfare with her four...
In my Sweet Little Alice Blue Gown
The play would beginWhere I’d skip, bow and spinAnd I waited for daddy to see - to see …Daddy to see only “Me”In my sweet little Alice Blue GownMomma’ sewed my dress To match with the rest Girls giggled and primped and squealed The sewing machine...
The Dogwood Tree
A few months after my younger daughter died of a fentanyl overdose at age 27, I moved to a town where I knew no one, lured by a new-construction house on an undeveloped half-acre lot. The developer had put in a few plants by the front door, but the rest of the lot was...
Breakfast in the Twilight Zone
(Trauma Warning!)Fourteen years old: I’m in bed for the night, but still awake. Daddy-Monster enters my room. I pretend to be asleep. He pinches my nose closed with his fingers. I open my mouth to breathe. He covers my mouth with his...
When Worlds Collide, Part 1
Recently, at the ACA Regional Event in Boca Raton, Florida, members from the Strengthening My Recovery Meditation Meeting (WEB0120) had a chance to gather together. For years, these friends had only seen each other on a screen - as live videos, as avatars or...
When Worlds Collide, Part 2
Recently, at the ACA Regional Event in Boca Raton, Florida, members from the Strengthening My Recovery Meditation Meeting (WEB0120) had a chance to gather together. For years, these friends had only seen each other on a screen - as live videos, as avatars or...
Do I Want my Inner Children to Grow Up
Yes, I am holding them and loving them as they never received. I am doing my best to be a loving parent. As a parent to three actual people, my job was to nurture and love them as they grew; to celebrate with them their accomplishments, to see them become successful...
My Inner Loving Mountain Goat Parent
He helps me take the next step upward. He reminds me that I have horns to set clear boundaries. He climbs with me, not ahead of me. His voice is gentle and assertive. He teaches me to take the moral high ground. He teaches me to focus on the...