January 6
An Ordinary Saturday
One of the quieter gifts of sobriety is an ordinary day. There may be groceries to buy, laundry waiting, or an afternoon with no dramatic event in it. After years of emergencies, such a day can feel strangely disappointing. We wanted our recovered life to be meaningful, and here we are looking for a clean pair of socks.
Ordinary responsibilities can carry a meaning that excitement never gave us. Someone can depend on dinner happening. We can make a plan without secretly calculating how drinking will fit. An unremarkable afternoon may contain freedoms we once scarcely imagined. This does not mean every chore must become a spiritual experience. It means we are allowed to recognize the life inside the chores. Recovery can restore the possibility of being present for familiar things, including a little boredom, without needing to escape or improve the occasion.
Which ordinary freedom have I begun taking for granted?
For now, there is dinner to make.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Step Twelve.