sober lifestyle

Enchantment


My husband tried to show me several different options for rental homes as he prepared to book our trip to New Mexico, but once I saw the log cabin with the mountain view and hot tub out back, I pushed the computer right back onto his lap. โ€œThat is my dream house!โ€ I declared. โ€œWhy would we stay anywhere else? Hell, letโ€™s move there! Can you ask if the owner wants to sell?โ€

When you know, you know, and if thereโ€™s one thing Iโ€™ve discovered about myself in the 22 years since I moved to Pennsylvania โ€” I mean, other than the fact that I cannot f*ck with alcohol โ€” and married a man from the Pocono region, it is that I am 100% a mountain girl. Mountains >> The Shore all day, every day. Give me crisp, dry air, tall trees, big rocks, wide open skies where you can see all the stars, and peace and quiet with as few people as possibleโ€ฆ.

And roosters crowing in the distance just before dawn. ๐Ÿ“๐ŸŒ… Iโ€™m adding that one after our recent visit to the โ€œLand of Enchantment,โ€ because the chorus of cock-a-doodle-doos that accompanied my morning coffee breaks and yoga sessions on the deck of the cabin made the whole โ€œretreat from realityโ€ experience all the more enchanting.

I caught a few of them in this audio clip:

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sober lifestyle

Simplicity

Casting my shadow on the south ridge of Cadillac Mountain, after scaling the highest point in Acadia National Park.

โ€œDo you think Iโ€™m boring?โ€ I asked my husband as we sat on a park bench, staring at the ocean, on the final evening of our 15th anniversary trip to Maine.

Foolish question! I mean, the man had been right there with me every second of the previous five days, hoofing it around hiking trails and carriage roads at Acadia National Park, then trekking up and down Portlandโ€™s downtown walkways for hours on end, until we both collapsed into our hotel or AirBNB bed โ€” after a tick inspection, of course. He never complained!

Hell, heโ€™s known me for 20 years, and Iโ€™ve always been a no-frills nature girl with simple tastes (if also some moderation issues ๐Ÿ˜ฌ). The frills are even fewer since I quit drinking, and yet, at three years sober, the two of us feel closer and more in sync than ever.

Whether or not a walking tour of Maine was the โ€œromantic getawayโ€ of Hubbyโ€™s dreams, he certainly didnโ€™t rain on my parade. And with flawless weather, the freshest of air, plenty of room to move, awe-inspiring scenery and my best guy by my side (maybe a few steps behind? ๐Ÿคฃ), I was in paradise!

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