cookies in bed

On my one-year anniversary of stopping drinking, I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies and climbed into bed. It was a delicious celebration of getting through an entire year with no alcohol.

I was amazed at how much I had learned that year. I’d learned how to have Thanksgiving without drinking. I’d learned how to go to a concert without a cup in my hand. I’d learned how to go on vacation without going to a bar.

Each year since then, I think about what I’ve learned in the last 365 days — and I celebrate. One year, to celebrate learning how to live without a relationship, I bought myself a simple gold ring. Another year, I celebrated having enough money in savings to pay for an emergency electrical problem.

Learning how to do life is worth celebrating.

This year, I walked St. Patricks Way, 95 miles across Northern Ireland by myself, through forests and mountains, farms and seaside towns. I literally “walked it off,” the old stories, the sad stuff. I learned how to let go.

What have you learned this year? How will you celebrate?