As the title of this post suggests, it’s August 1st down here in sunny Florida. Even though the temps say it’s still summer the calendar says otherwise. This is the second to last Saturday before the first day of school but it feels just like a Sunday. Not in the relaxing sense of kicking back on the couch and relaxing before the week ahead either. More of a giant list of to do’s staring you down with zero motivation to start. My kids will be starting a new school year on August 10th in “th” grades 10th, 9th and 6th. I remember when they were those ages (in that order) and here we are, in those grades! it’s exciting, scary, tiring and well, tiring. I could use more summer but the show must go on.

This summer will be my second sober summer. If you haven’t read my other posts, I have a medical condition called AUD that’s a fun way of saying a doctor called me an alcoholic. Alcohol Use Disorder has a checklist and I checked all the boxes. So even though I wasn’t living under a bridge or draining my family’s bank account on alcohol, I was carrying a Yeti of wine to almost all of my kid’s sports events and making pretty poor & embarrassing choices while under the influence of alcohol. The cons had officially outweighed the pros and now that I’m almost a year and a half removed from that life, I don’t think there were any pros to begin with. I feel like I have to add that I have been completely sober. I never got into marijuana in my life and even though for some it is a good alternative, it’s just not for someone like me. So back to this sober summer thing. Last summer I was pretty new to this lifestyle I was accommodating myself to. I say lifestyle because I had tried the whole “Dry January” and “dry July” or just “taking the week of” in the past and I had done it! But like a diet fad, I went back to my old ways once that time was up. This time around I had a tool box of Diet Coke and a doctor’s note- that whole AUD thing. I didn’t want to let myself down either. I was white knuckling sobriety the majority of that first summer but at the end I decided that’s how I want to do summers with my family moving forward. So here we are on sober summer adventure numero dos. Every morning I started with a coffee and gratitude. Sounds cheesy I know, I thought that too and still kinda feel like that but what a gift to be able to have. Every night was treated like a weekend night with staying up late doing whatever we wanted. Quite a few nights Avery (my adventurer) and I would go do things off of our Summer Bucket list. Although these were not trips to Alaska or cruises to the Caribbean, we went to other not frequently visited places like a late night trip to the Waffle House. Our bucket list was simple and obtainable. We took advantage of our beaches, state park and surrounding cities people from the north pay to come visit. I guess it’s called a staycation. Staycation and AUD, fancy words for ordinary things! Was our summer ordinary? I guess so, but I am here for it.

Our family was invited to my best friend’s parent’s 50th anniversary in Palmyra, IN. My girls were already scheduled for a cousin trip at the same time and couldn’t make it. My son planned to head up with them the week before which left Mark and me on our own to make the road trip up. We hadn’t done such a thing since before kids. We made a plan to stop in Nashville for a day since neither of us had ever been. A week before we were set to leave, the AC in Mark’s 1 year old truck went out. We were told by the dealership there was no way it would be ready to go in time. Airline tickets were expensive and it seemed like it was falling apart. For the record, I survived a whole summer as a kid with a broken house AC so I was fine with riding with the windows down. Mark was not. Let’s just say we didn’t grow up the same. The dealership told us we could rent a car and maybe be reimbursed by GM. Maybe is a big word here since it was also an added expense but we said let’s just do it. I may have even done some girl math deciding the savings from my alcohol abstinence made it even out. So we did everything we planned and it was amazing. Nashville was just as incredible as I imagined. I forgot my ID in the hotel so I was not able to go inside some of the bars which was ok. There were a few bouncers who decided I looked over 21 (thanks!) and let me walk in. 4 was enough! We Uber’d back to the hotel and headed on to Indiana in the morning. I throughly enjoyed the non hungover 3 hour drive. Jason Aldean has a song called “Flyover States”. Although I was born in Ohio and spent the first 6 years of my life in Indiana, I don’t remember much and definitely didn’t appreciate it’s beauty. “you’ll understand why God made those flyover states” is a true statement. The humidity was almost non existent and it didn’t get dark until almost 10 PM! The anniversary party was amazing. It felt like a wedding and we haven’t been to one of those in a while! There was a signature cocktail that I helped mix up that seemed to be a hit. Mark and I couldn’t stay off the dance floor. The 3 of us were finally dressed in something other than our daily usuals and got a great family photo. The desserts? 10/10. I used to opt for the open bar instead of the dessert table. We spent the next day relaxing by the pool and I was sad to leave Monday morning. It was a trip I will cherish and remember forever. Every detail, every almost didn’t happen, every interesting dance move by my husband and son, staying in my bestie’s childhood home because there were no hotels in the country. Before we left I asked Robin (bestie’s mom) what the secret to 50 years of marriage is. She said not to get mad so easily and not to take everything so darn serious. Noted.

He’s mine, that one.

My oldest has emerged from her room requesting a trip to the mall for some back to school shopping so I will end here and begin the madness of teenager clothes shopping 😵‍💫

Thankful for this summer and I look forward to what this school year has to offer.