I drink alcohol once or twice a year, so in Dry January, I’m not focusing on giving up alcohol. My “dry” is “no drama”—if I can help it. What I mean is, some things happen beyond my control. Example: I had a pipe that burst in my house last week & now, I’m dealing with that. Example: I had a sibling that died in July & I’m still dealing with a very complicated grief. (Which I will keep to myself.) Example: I have a book deadline looming & I’m stressed, which sometimes leads to daylong surges of anxiety & then, bouts of inflammation. Sometimes stress cannot be planned for. Sometimes stress comes out of nowhere. But as a former, messy drama queen who always gave away my power—which lead to me getting involved with physically or emotionally abusive people—& then whined when things went bad slash horribly with people, I know that I can control some drama, beginning this new year. I can go “Dry on Drama.” Let’s face it: some of us love drama. We grew up in chaos & we knew no other way. We left those households & then sought out new drama. I know I did. As a child growing up in an abusive household, every day was a fireworks display. I didn’t know what would happen—but I knew it would be bad. I hoped it would end with my father’s death—but it did not. My family dynamic had been hardwired to chaos, & I began creating it, when I no longer had an organic source for it. It took me years to understand that. It also took me years to understand that sometimes people who loved me in the best way they knew—ordinary, very good people—weren’t loving me in the best way I needed. I used to get angry at those people. Now, I just get gone. Now that I have peace, I carefully control what I can—my surroundings, what I involve myself in, the people I spend time with—because sometimes life can’t be controlled. (Hello Global Pandemic! Hello anxiety!) Also, I want to continue to be the good person I am now. I can’t be good wallowing in constant drama. I have taken responsibility for what I go into with my eyes wide open—I can assess ahead of time. This is my version of Dry January. Love & Bless. ~Honorée 💜💜💜