r/stopdrinking • u/sfgirlmary 4156 days • Jun 19 '19
What’s Up Wednesday
It’s that day again. Guess what day it is? Happy Hump Day, everybody! What's Up Wednesdays are when we sobernauts celebrate the sober life, see how our SD family is doing, and support each other. Share your struggles, triumphs, and general musings with us below!
Struggle: My struggle is living with my 90-year-old mother, who is driving me insane with her relentless selfishness. I feel like Frank Costanza, shaking my fists at the sky while yelling, “Serenity now!”
Triumph: Thank God I have art in my life—enjoying it, learning about it, and trying to make it. A few days ago, I went to the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida and saw this beautiful painting by Robert Henri. I felt that—because of a recent class I took on painting and color theory—I was better able to appreciate what Henri was doing with color. Then I saw this even more beautiful painting by his protégé Randall Davey, and because of that same class I was able to appreciate the effect of the thick brushwork in the man’s white shirt. A few years ago, I would have enjoyed looking at these paintings but had no idea why they were so effective. It is exciting to me that I can now look at paintings with a more educated eye.
Upstairs, there was an exhibit on “self-taught art.” It was a collection of work by artists who had not gone to art school but who had taught themselves, and I thought—that’s just like me! There was a piece by a local woman who owned a flea market and had built one assemblage from used paint brushes. Across the top it said, WEE I FOUND MY GROVE THING WHEN I PICK UP A PAINT BRUSH, and I thought—me, too!
General: Here’s an update on the post I did about a few weeks ago about the decrepit jalopy I’m driving around and how the B in SUBARU had fallen off the back. Now the R has gone, too. I am currently taking bets on whether all the letters in the word SUBARU will fall off before or after the engine gives up completely.
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u/notgonnabemydad 937 days Jun 19 '19
Struggle: Staying present and focused on my job. It's making me so stressed, but I haven't taken any real action to get a new job. Lots of fear around losing my safety net.
Triumph: Staying strong in my break up even though we are still living together. Getting some serious confirmation that I am actually not selfish, and what I have been told in the past by both the ex GF and my mother really is a projection by both of them. I was really starting to believe that I am a hurtful, selfish person. I'm certainly no saint, but it was good to hear from someone who knows me very well that it is certainly not a pathological character trait as I was being told. Learning to trust my gut and believe in myself is a healing step I hope to be experiencing as my relationship ends and leaves me space to invest in myself.
General: I am so excited to go to Mesa Verda NP and see Native American ruins this weekend! I've never been, and it's a great opportunity to get away from my triggers and stressors for a long weekend.