Weekend Wrap Up

Friday night Stu and I went out to the most delicious sushi dinner I've had in a very long time! I Love Sushi was kind of a miss the first round, but I think our good experience can be acredited to our chef, Tony! He was a fantastic, funny, smart-ass of a sushi chef, and very FAST too. (just how we like it!) He reminded me of Hiro Nakamura.So adorable! He kept giving us little surprise treats in between our ordering rolls. Such a great time!

Afterwards, we went home and watched an episode of Heroes (see Hiro, above) before remembering that our dear friend Sunyin was creating quite a buzz with hints about opening her own bar on her facebook page this week. We pull up the FB, and there it is! Sun is now the proud owner of The Jackaloupe. This is a huge deal for Sun, something she's dreamed of for over 10 years. Due to some interesting circumstance and shady business at her previous employer, this opportunity just fell into her lap. I'm so happy for her. She deserves all the success in the world! We stopped in for a celebratory toast. Fun times!

Saturday morning was fantastic, also. Slept in until 11:30 I think. I never get the chance to sleep in anymore, and AH! I love my sleep. Once I awoke the morning was quite hectic. I had plans to be at earth jam with about a thousand people it seemed. I dressed quickly, got the dogs taken care of (way later than they are used to, poor loves), and headed to Liberty Park for the fun celebration. In my haste to get there, I forgot that I was supposed to pick up Christie! How terrible of me, she has been having a rough time and I am so wrapped up in myself that I didn't even think of it until she called me! Thank goodness she was already there. I took Zoo with me and he loved it. So much, in fact that he was kind of driving me crazy trying to pull me all over the place. He normally does so well on the leash, but I think with all of the distraction it was just too much to bear. Festivities were much fun, I ran into a lot of people I adore and haven't seen for some time. Even got to hang out with my favorite kids in the world! We hung out until about 5:00 before I decided to take him home.

Stu and Aaron had been out shooting guns all day with Stu's dad and brother. He was so high from the rush, it's all they could talk about for hours! It made me so happy to see him so lit up about it. What a fun day, all in all. I had been stewing a huge pot of marinara all day, so I made some side dishes and we all ate together. Something about cooking for a group of people just feels so good. I wish I could do it everyday! We watched A Scanner Darkly, moved some furniture around, cleaned house and just vegged for the rest of the night.


Sundays have become my new day to look forward to each week. My brother was a late bloomer, I don't even think he started drinking until he was legally of age. This sounds practical in sentence form, but seems out of the ordinary these days. It didn't take long to notice that he wasn't just a casual drinker. He drank until the bottle was empty (and whatever else was within reach). Over the past few years his drinking became more and more of a problem. A true source of worry for all who loved him. Anyone who knows and loves an alcoholic knows first-hand, they are the most selfish people on the planet when it comes to their drinking. We did everything we knew how to help him, but it really boiled down to his desire to get sober, which wasn't there until recently.

Last year sometime, he met a girl from Arizona, fell in distant love with her, and decided to take the leap and move down AZ to be with her. It wasn't long before she noticed his drinking problem, and it caused a major blockage in their relationship, and I believe it was almost exactly two months later that he came home. Little did I know it was with the intention of seeking help. His stay at Valley Camp was a God-send, to say the least. It's not a rehab facility. There are no doctors present, no aids to help the body along in it's process of detoxification. They are not held there against their will.

The compound was purchased by a man named Bill. Bill's story is the first in the A.A. Big Book, and is one that resonates well with most alcoholics, whether recovering or not. It's a place of real peace and compassion. My brother is there with 9 other recovering alcoholics, all with sobriety dates ranging between 1 and 89 days. Most of them are in his age group, and he seems to be connecting well with them. One in particular, named Aaron, he seems to have developed a close bond with. They play ping-pong, lift weights, play cards, watch movies (after 4 pm), and essentially spend their 90 days learning to cope with the boredom that comes with being sober. They each told me that in the times they are most bored, that's when they would use. "It's 90 days for the rest of your life," they say. Anyway, the facility itself is really fantastic. They have a fire pit, lots of beautiful scenery, even a river flowing right through the center. On my first visit, Brother walked me along the trail, pointing out his favorite places to sit and reflect on what he's learning. He's found a sponsor and seems to be working hard to chip away at completing his steps.

He told me last Sunday, "In the meetings, when someone gets up and talks, no matter who they are or where they come from, there is a huge part of me that can relate. We all have the same story. Those meetings.. they feel almost as good as being drunk. In some ways, they feel even better." It took all of my strength not to cry! All of the countless prayers, pleading for my brother to find the strength in himself to get help, that statement was proof of they were answered! Each time I visit I notice more changes in him, and in the other boys, too.

I'll do whatever I can to help support my brother in his sobriety. I'll quit drinking myself. Anything. Valley Camp is such a warm place, the first thing I thought when I got there and he was telling me about how it all worked, I thought to myself, "I wonder how I could get involved in something like this." Seems like because I am not an addict (of alcohol, at least) I would not be an effective mentor for the newcomers, for those struggling every minute to stay above water. "One day at a time," he says with a smile. "I'll take another 24," his new buddy echoes behind him. My heart weeps with gratitude.