It's been almost 17 months since I last drank alcohol. In that time, I've had two sponsors, and broken up with and restarted my relationship with my girlfriend, but most importantly I've rebuilt my relationship with my daughter and have a much more solid co-parenting relationship with her mom now that I'm able to let go of expectations and accept that she is spiritually sick. I've completed the 12 steps of AA and God will bring me a sponsee when we are both ready. This process has brought me so much healing and sanity. But the most important thing that has changed in my life is a desire to do whatever needs to be done, when it needs to be done instead of avoiding or procrastinating. Most painfully, this meant parting ways with my on-and-off girlfriend of the last 2.5 years. We forced ourselves together because the lifestyle was fantastic. We both loved playing outside with a variety of activities, and had many adventures together, with and without our kids. ...