Month: December 2022

The Dress

~ lorah ~ Leave a comment

To see your daughter in a wedding dress for the first time is a very emotional experience. Over their holiday visit, Allie (the bride to be), Kirsten, my Mom and I made the pilgrimage to the bridal shop. To see Allie trying on all those dazzling wedding dresses made the upcoming wedding event seem more real. We had so much fun watching her try on dress after dress. It was pure enjoyment to see that beautiful girl all dressed up.

Allie did try on dresses one other time with friends in Dallas. She facetimed us with her favorite dress and of course I cried as it was really the first time seeing her as a bride. It is hard sometimes to fathom my children are grown adults. I still remembering both of them as little girls playing bride dress up. My grandma, her great-grandma was Allie’s biggest fan. I wish she was here to witness this with us …. my dad, too. He would be so proud. Allie was the first grandchild and they had a special bond.

We weren’t expecting it, but she found the perfect dress for her big day. It goes so well with her personality and the vibe she is after for her wedding. I am so excited I just want to show everyone, but of course I can not. We have shared pictures of her in the dress with family and a few special friends. We still have about a 1.5 years until wedding day, but things are starting to get planned. Patrick does not want to see Allie in any wedding dress until the day of. I think it is sweet.

Allie and Pat will be home in Ohio in May/June for about a month. The bulk of the real planning will happen then. But she is doing research on all the vendors needed to put on a wedding. There have been discussions and ideas flying around now, but nothing is concrete expect the date, venue and now the dress.

I am excited for this next chapter. I can remember being the ages of my girls. This all makes me feel old, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. I love where we are at in life and that I am still here to experience it all.

May 25, 2024 will be a beautiful day!

An Ordinary Thursday

~ lorah ~ Leave a comment

It is just an ordinary Thursday on December 1.

Tomorrow, December 2nd, I will celebrate 8 years of continuous sobriety. Each year, month, day, hour and minute is a miracle. It has been hard fought at times to get to this point. I am ever so blessed to where I am and the life I have today. Is it perfect …. hell no, but I am grateful. I plan to be with my sponsor on Sunday to receive my official 8 year token. I always reflect this time of year with Thanksgiving, My sober anniversary and the Christmas Season. I have been given a second chance that many do not have and I have so many friends in the fellowship, Doctors, therapists and of course my family to thank for it.

Now that December is officially here the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Season is ever apparent. I love the holidays, but at the same time it overly stresses me out. So many parties and gatherings and I usually feel like I have to go to them all. Nope! Not doing it all this year. I have declined several sober dinners and get togethers (and those are my people). I have a couple of work parties with the business and a neighborhood party I will show up at for as long as I feel comfortable. A friend of mine that I was discussing all this with said she has noticed that I have pulled away from a lot of these things since my sponsee, Kerry, committed suicide. It is probably true. She also said it was good that I do what I feel I need to do or not to do for me. I appreciated that and it sort of made it ok to say no.

Allie and Patrick will be home for Christmas on 12/17. We will make our traditional Christmas dinner on 12/22, Pat’s family will be joining us in our home 12/23-12/25. We will do my family’s Christmas celebration later on the 25th. Allie and Pat leave the 27th or 28th and then Kirsten’s 5 college friends come on the 28th to stay with us for a couple of days before moving on to Cincinnati for NYE. It is going to be a couple of weeks of chaos! It will be fun, but chaotic. Home is my safe haven and there will be no escaping.

I have done a lot of shopping, probably over shopping to control my anxiety. It could be another addiction. I swore it was going to be a small Christmas, I am not sure who I was fooling.

So stress is the name of the game for December. I am though proud of my sober accomplishments.