Surprise. A little bit of pride. A lot of gratitude.

These are some of the feelings I had the other day when one of my phone apps congratulated me on my 2,000th day of sobriety.

Part of me (ego) thought, “Wow…damn!!” And while the string of days seems impressive (that IS a lot of days, after all), in my heart and (much more importantly) in my mind I now realize that the secret of such a feat lies in living each 24-hour chunk well. One day at a time.

I’ve accumulated 2,000 days before, so there’s a bit of wariness about the milestone. Maybe it’s a healthy fear. I’d gotten got a little cocky about my ability–or inability, as it were–to resist my demon and ‘thought I had this.’

After a lengthy relapse, I eventually reached my bottom again and this time it hurt even worse. It took what it took; after all, we humans can be very stubborn. It took being cut off at the knees to get me to surrender to my powerlessness over alcohol. I had no one else to turn to and nowhere else to go.

So I came back into the rooms a lot more bruised, a lot more humble, and a lot more willing to do whatever it took to get out of the hole I’d dug myself into. Or die.

Writing this has made me realize that I’d been thinking of ‘2,000 days’ as being a milestone. Instead, I think I’ll simply consider it a mile marker since it really is just part of the road I’m presently on…one that becomes a bit smoother and less congested as time goes by.

Naturally, there have been delays and detours along the way, and I know there’ll be some ahead. I’m just learning how to live life today. I’m learning how to be…here…now. One day at a time…