COVIDcation-2020; The Best April in My Recovery… Probably My Life. Ever.

I was more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a roomful of knitting grannies on rocking chairs when our governor decided to shut construction down.  I wasn’t worried about work, we’ve got Millions on the books for when we go back.  I’m going to be busier than a one-legged pirate in an ass-kicking contest.  I was worried about how my home life would go.  There were so many variables!  Meetings, money, family dynamics, my daughter’s boyfriend… but my biggest fear centered on how my wife and I would do in the same house with little to no break from each other.

The meetings, I’d work that out.  My recovery has always been (and as long as I intend on staying sober, will always be) the most important thing in my life.  Without recovery, I have nothing.  I’ll give up everything good in my life for a bottle.  Without fanfare or fail.

I’ve done what I needed to do, including riding my bicycle to my sponsor’s house and/or shop, fourteen miles from my house, just to sit out in the driveway to talk with him for a bit about how things are going.  I’ve done a few zoom meetings and, while they’re better than nothing, they leave a lot to be desired for me.  I’ve also attended a couple of bandit AA meetings, but I won’t make much of that in writing.  File that under, “Motherf***er, don’t tell me I can’t go to a meeting for my sobriety.  Some shit is just too important.”

The money was easy; we had enough to ride this out in savings as long as we didn’t spend frivolously.  We were in much better shape than many, through diligence and not being too stupid.  We received a stimulus check from the feds a couple of weeks ago and that helped bridge any gaps, then unemployment kicked in and now we’re doing very well.  I’ve maintained contact with the president of the company I work for and he’s ready to roll as soon as COVID restrictions are lifted.  I should also add, for posterity’s sake, that we chose the path that would bring in the least government money.  Not the most, the least.  I canceled two other options that would have had us swimming in cash.

The kids would take a little effort, but they’ve been great and we’ve managed to come up with an enjoyable routine.  They’re doing online school now, so we don’t see much of them until they’re done.  We eat dinner together, almost daily, then we clean up and play games together until it’s time for bed.  Not much in the way of television, either, though I watch more than my fair share of movies (I have a ridiculously large collection).

My main worry was with my wife.  I’m a very good man, but I’m a handful.  When I have an office to go to, we get a break from each other.  We have the whole, “absence makes the heart grow fonder” thing, even if it’s only while I’m at work.  I was worried she’d grow tired of my presence around the house pretty quickly.

And I wasn’t wrong.

What I hadn’t seen coming, though, is we worked it out and our ability to work through the issues and come to a place where we’re both happy surprised me.  In the end, my worry was unfounded and this mess has had a tremendously positive effect on our family unity.

Then there’s the cycling.  Oh, happy days, the cycling.  My March wasn’t my best, but the weather for the month absolutely sucked.  It was cold and nasty most of the month and I still managed to squeeze 728 miles into it.  April was the big deal.  The weather wasn’t much better but I was able to get out most of the days and only put in five days on the indoor trainer.  I took two days off during the month and the other 21 days were spent out on the road where I was able to average better than a whopping 45 miles a day.  Put all of that together, (and two more rest days for today and tomorrow – rain, lots of it) and I’m sitting on 1,046 miles for the month.  951 outdoor, 95 indoor, though I still may ride the trainer tomorrow, to get my legs spun up for the weekend.  Many of those miles were spent riding with my wife, which made it all the better.  If that wasn’t good enough, and it is, I’m down more than ten pounds since April Fool’s Day.

Friends, it doesn’t have to get any better than that.  This is so far beyond good times and noodle salad, I can hardly quantify it.  The main axiom in recovery was ever thus; trust God, clean house, and help others.  When I do that, good things happen.

And so they have.