# 8 years sober **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 22, 2012, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-years-sober/616477 "2012-03-22T04:51:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-years-sober/616477/21 "2012-03-23T15:34:34Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > P.S. I can’t find the thread now, but weren’t you the guy whose father managed to solve the Rubik’s cube 3 minutes after he first laid eyes on it? Yep, that is my Dad. After looking at it for a minute he said “Oh, thats group theory” and proceeded to solve it. My Dad is a smart, sweet and good hearted man. He has slowed down a bit, he is in his 70s now, but he is still sharp. When he was younger he was amazingly quick. If a math problem came up he’d get this pissed off look on his face, his “Crunching numbers” face, and a minute or two later an aswwer would pop out. Once on a flight to Hawaii the stewardess came out with a big jug filled with M&Ms. The person on the flight who could guess the number of M&Ms in the jug would win a prize. Everyone just threw out numbers. Dad got the look for a minute and then jotted down a number. He won, of course, and was extremely close. Within 2% IIRC. When I asked about it he said he calculated the volume of the jug, the size of the M&Ms, the most efficent stacking of the M&Ms and then took a bit off. He would do that kind of stuff all the time. What is kind of funny is that my drinking threw him for a loop. He just could not understand it. He did everything he could to help but it really baffled him. That is one of the horrors of addiction. I became, to my Mom, Dad, family and friends, an alien. I looked like the normal, birght guy they raised and loved but I turned into a person that they could not understand. I did shit that made absolutely no sense to them. My thinking and behavior baffled them. Thankfully, these days all that is done. My family and I can connect like normal folks. Such a simple thing but it means so much. Slee ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-years-sober/616477/22 "2012-03-23T15:46:30Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > What is kind of funny is that my drinking threw him for a loop. He just could not understand it. He did everything he could to help but it really baffled him. That is one of the horrors of addiction. I became, to my Mom, Dad, family and friends, an alien. I looked like the normal, birght guy they raised and loved but I turned into a person that they could not understand. I did shit that made absolutely no sense to them. My thinking and behavior baffled them. > > Thankfully, these days all that is done. My family and I can connect like normal folks. Such a simple thing but it means so much. > > Slee Congrats on 8 years. Didn’t know that story about your dad - fascinating. Glad to hear that you can connect much better - but I gotta ask: since you have shared that you and your gal (congrats on the relationship by the way!) have a strongly D/s relationship - does that spill over into your external life? As for your relationship with the 'Dope - I hear ya; it comes and goes. Hopefully you will check in regularly and hang out when it feels right… ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-years-sober/616477/23 "2012-03-23T16:34:31Z")
Many congrats on eight years and a healthy life. I’m at about… holy cow, six and a half years post-self-harm, and life has never been better. I finally stopped thinking about it daily a couple of years ago, that’s been a relief. Anyone who’s still struggling: Life really can be good. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but it’s out there. Keep going. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-years-sober/616477/24 "2012-03-23T17:59:11Z")
Congrats!!! I got to ask -------- is it any easier now after 8 years or is it still basically one day at a time? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Burro\_Buenmozo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@El\_Burro\_Buenmozo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Burro_Buenmozo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-years-sober/616477/25 "2012-03-23T18:02:32Z")
That’s quite an accomplishment- congrats! ---
**Author:** ![abbeytxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@abbeytxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abbeytxs)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-years-sober/616477/26 "2012-03-23T18:11:35Z")
Congratulations! 8 years is a lot of days strung together! Keep up the good work. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-years-sober/616477/27 "2012-03-24T21:32:42Z")
\ Thanks everbody \ **kopek** , it is fairly easy these days. If I do have any issues I have the tools to work them out. I have all the same kinds of problems that normal folks do, and now I have a way to deal with them. **WordMan** , our relationship is complex. Good but complex. The roles are every changing, just like any other relationship. Tonight I think we are headed out to dinner to celebrate. Slee [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-years-sober/616477.md?page=1)