The first year I got sober, I spent the holidays alone here in Los Angeles. My dad worried about me. “Are you sure?” he asked nervously. “You’re just going to be…alone? Won’t you be depressed?” He comes from a huge family. Our Christmases growing up were no less than fifty people. He didn’t understand that it was easier for me to comprehend spending a holiday alone than it was to be around my huge Irish Catholic family while also trying not to drink. My sister called me and asked more bluntly, “Bridge, dad is worried you’re gonna kill yourself—are you sure you’re okay spending Christmas alone?”
“Yes! I’m fine,” I insisted. We laughed about my dad. My sister and I share our disdain for the holiday season (it’s what inspired the first Phetasy greeting card 'Holidays...are a pain in the ass.') and the idea of spending Christmas and New Years alone with no obligations to go anywhere or do anything sounded truly…magical.
This year the entire world ...
Hello new followers, I hope I don’t disappoint you. I want this place to feel like home, where we can escape the Thunderdome and process the world. Where we can post dog pics and recipes and book recommendations. Where we support each other as we get sober, lose weight, embark on new business opportunities, creative endeavors, relationships and travels. I want this to be your oasis of sanity and laughter in an increasingly mad world. A creative outlet where you can share your spirit with us.
We might not have any control over the news cycle—but we can control our habits and attitude. It all starts with us. And hopefully a little piece of that will start here.
I am a member of a neighborhood Buy Nothing group on Facebook. A woman reached out asking if anyone had an aloe plant they could spare. She posted a photo of herself and explained she was going through chemotherapy for breast cancer, and heard that aloe would help for radiation treatments. Not only did dozens of people offer her aloe, but even more offered to go on walks with her, cook her meals, and do any errands she needed. I delivered her reusable gel ice packs to help with the burns.
Yesterday on the subway, a man was begging for money. Another man gave him a $20, said he had been homeless at one point, and that it is possible to turn things around.
There is goodness out there. There is goodness in here.
Sending y'all lots of love and peace. I hope you're finding kindness and warmth wherever you are. 💖
