31 YRS OF SOBRIETY TODAY..

 TODAY MY HUSBAND CELEBRATES HIS 31 YRS OF SOBRIETY FROM ALCOHOLISM. AND I'M SO PROUD OF HIM, BECAUSE I'M SURE IT'S NOT EASY IN TODAYS WORLD TO STAY SOBER. THE ABOVE PICTURE IS FROM OUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER, WHICH INTERVEIWED HIM ABOUT HIS ADDICTION RECOVERY, WITH HIS BELOVED 'PUNKY' THE PUG.

WHEN WE MET IN LATE 1999, i HAD JUST MOVED TO FLORIDA FROM THE COLD NORTH, AND HE WAS EIGHT YEARS SOBER. I FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM FOR SO MANY REASONS, HIS DEDICATION TO BEING SOBER AND HELPING OTHERS DO THE SAME, WAS ONE OF THEM, BECAUSE I HAD JUST LOST MY MOM TO THIS DISEASE TWO YEARS PRIOR.  THERE'S 13 YRS DIFFERNCE BETWEEN US IN AGE, THE 13th OF 9/91 WAS THE START DATE OF HIS SOBRIETY, THE DAY OF HIS LATE FATHER'S BIRTH, AND HIS FIRST RACING MOTORCYCLE AND STOCK CAR'S NUMBERS, THAT HE BUILT, RACED, AND WON WITH, SO THAT'S HIS LUCKY NUMBER,

DURING THE 2004 HURRICANE SEASON WE WERE LIVING IN A WOOD FRAME HOUSE WE OWNED AND LIVED THRU A HURRICANE THAT TOOK A PART OF THE ROOF OFF WITH US IN IT! I FELT IT MIGHT NOT BE SAFE FOR US, SO TRISTAN  FOUND A HOUSE DOWN THE STREET THAT WAS CBS BLOCK THRU A BUSINESS ASSOCIATE OF HIS.WHO  RENTED IT TO US...AND IMMEDIATELY RODE OUT TWO MORE BACK TO BACK HURRICANES IN IT IN ONE PIECE, ALONG WITH A FEW MORE LATER ONES.  OUR 'LITTLE HOUSE IN THE HIGLANDS' THAT WE MOVED INTO WAS BUILT IN 1958, THE SAME YEAR THAT TRISTAN WAS BORN.  WE WERE MEANT TO LIVE HERE.  THIS HOUSE HAS HELD UP THROUGH SEVERAL HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS SINCE THEN.  WE ENDED UP BUYING IT IN 2005 WHEN TRISTAN'S FATHER, WHO WAS IN HIS LATE 80'S, ASKED HIM TO HELP CARE FOR HIM. HIS FATHER HAD FALLEN, BROKEN HIS THIGH'S FEMUR, SO BADLY, THAT THEY HAD TO PIN/SCREW IT TOGETHER, AND  HE HAD BEGUN HAVING HEALTH/DEMENTIA  ISSUES. TRISTAN BORROWED SOME MONEY FROM HIS FATHER AND BOUGHT THE MUCH BIGGER HOUSE NEXT DOOR FOR US TO LIVE IN BUT IT NEEDED WORK SO WE RENTED ANOTHER LARGER HOUSE FOR A WHILE TO LET HIS FATHER LIVE IN WITH ROUND THE CLOCK PRIVATE CARE GIVERS HE FOUND (WE BOTH WORKED FULL TIME THEN. I WAS A CSM FOR WALMART AND TRISTAN WAS RUNNING A BUSINESS WITH FOUR FULLTIME EMPLOYEES, PLUS WE BOTH WORKED THE LIVE CATCH AND RELEASE TRAP LINES THRU OUT THE COUNTY , AND TRISTAN WAS REPAIRING THE HOUSE WE PLANNED TO ALL LIVE TOGEHTER IN. 

TRISTAN WAS IN A BAD MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT WHEN HE WAS 26 AND WAS TOLD BY THE DOCTORS THAT HE WOULD NEVER WALK AGAIN. BUT HE DIDN'T LET THAT STOP HIM, AND HE FOUGHT BACK TO BE ABLE TO WALK AGAIN, AND DID WITH ALOT OF HARD WORK AND DETERMINATION, AND THE HELP OF A VERY DETERMINED PHYSICAL THERAPIST NURSE PRACTIONER.  

 HE DEALS WITH BACK PAIN AND NECK PAIN EVERY DAY FROM THIS, BUT DESPITE ALL THAT, HE GOT SOBER ON SEPTEMBER 13th, 1991. THAT'S THE YEAR AND THE MONTH THAT I WENT INTO BASIC TRAINING!! BUT  I FRACTURED MY ANKLE ON A MORNING RUN IN BASIC TRAINING AND WAS IN A CAST FOR 6 WKS. I WASN'T ABLE TO PASS THE 2 MILE RUN AND HAD TO GET AN HONORABLE/MEDICAL DISCHARGE FROM THE MILITARY.

  THE ONE TRAIT I LOVE ABOUT TRISTAN, IS THAT EVEN IF HES HAVING A BAD DAY (AND DUE TO PAIN LEVELS HE HAS MANY) IT DOESN'T STOP HIM FROM TRYING TO MAKE PEOPLE SMILE AND LAUGH...

IT HASN'T BEEN EASY AND WE RELY ALOT ON GOD IN OUR LIVES TO GET US THROUGH THE HARD TIMES, AND WE RELY ON EACH OTHER.  WE BICKER ALOT, BECAUSE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN US, FREQUENTLY CAUSES TENSIONS TO RISE BETWEEN US, BUT DEEP DOWN INSIDE WE KNOW WE'VE GOT EACH OTHERS BACKS.  I BELIEVE THAT GOD SENT ME TO TRISTAN, AND THATS HOW WE MET, OUR RELATIONSHIP HAS ENDURED A LOT OF PAIN, SORROW AND ANGST, AND THE GOOD TIMES HAVE BEEN THE BEST ONES, OF BOTH OF OUR LIVES. WE ARE  PASSIONATE ABOUT OUR LIVES TOGEHTER AS A TEAM UNIT, AND OUR SHARED BELIEFS, AND INTERESTS, AND WHAT WE STAND FOR. ALSO WE BOTH SERVED IN THE ARMY WHICH IS A BOND TO EACH OTHER AND COUNTRY, ONLY THOSE WHO SERVED, KNOW.

WE HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED IN OUR "HIGHER POWER" . WITH ME IT WAS AL-ANON THAT BROUGHT ME TO START TO BELIEVE AND SEE.  AS I'VE SAID BEFORE I WASN'T RAISED IN A FAMILY THAT BELIEVED OR TALKED ABOUT GOD. TRISTAN HAS BEEN MY "ROCK", HE HAS HELPED ME AND TAUGHT ME TO BELIEVE AND KNOW THAT GOD IS REAL. FOR A LONG TIME, I USED TO BLAMED MYSELF, THAT I WAS THE CAUSE OF MY MOM'S DRINKING AND DEATH RELATED TO IT , BECAUSE OF DECISIONS I MADE WHEN I LIVED WITH HER, AND HOW I TREATED HER, BUT TRISTAN SHOWED ME, THAT GOD HAS FORGIVEN ME, AND THAT BY BLAMING MYSELF, IS LIKE SAYING THAT GOD ISN'T REAL, BY NOT ACCEPTING FULLY, THE FORGIVENESS THAT HE'S GIVEN ME.  

 TRISTAN AND I TALK OFTEN ABOUT THE BIBLE AND GOD,  AND IT SEEMS LATELY, THAT WE HAVE A LOT MORE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT FAITH IN, AND OBEDIENCE TO, GOD'S WILL, AND HOW IT RELATES TO OUR LIVES, AND A WORLD GONE BATCHIT CRAZY.  

 WHEN I MET TRISTAN HE HAD A SWEET RESCUED ONE YEAR OLD GERMAN SHEPHERD, NAMED 'Maxwell', WHOM SOMEONE ABANDONED, AS A PUPPY, IN A BOX, IN A PARKING LOT! HE ALSO HAD A TOTALLY ADORABLE LITTLE SEVEN YEAR OLD FEMALE PUG, NAMED 'PUNKY'. EVERYONE... EVEN PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T LIKE DOGS ..LOOOOVED PUNKY! SHE WAS A SOBRIETY GIFT FROM A FRIEND IN ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, FOR MAKING HIS FIRST YEAR SOBER.  HE STATES THAT PUNKY KEPT HIM SOBER, BECAUSE HE KNEW THAT IF HE PICKED UP, EVEN ONE DRINK, HE WOULD BE ON THE STREETS AGAIN, AND HE DIDN'T WANT THAT FOR HIS PUG. in the last 20 YEARS, we've bought, and rescued many abused, abandoned, and unwanted dogs . we've had up to 10 at one time, when  we had two houses side by side, with a combine acre of fenced land for them to run in. I wanted shepherd pups from maxwell, because  he had such an awesome disposition, and he was getting old, so we found a female Shepherd, and bred them once. had nine pups (that was SO fun, my little 'wolf pack' ). We found homes for seven and kept the two runt ones.          Sadly dogs don't live as long as we would like them to, and by the time we had been together for 20 years, we were down to a female pug and a male German Shepard again, the same breed, gender, and number of dogs (A female pug, and a male German Shepard) that Tristan had when I met him. He has a kind, but firm way of training them, and the pic below shows how well they walked with him. I couldn't do that so well... we always ended up a tangled mess. lol. 

  

Tristan HAD SEVERAL BUSINESSES BEFORE I MET HIM, AND WHILE WE'VE BEEN TOGETHER.  HE IS A NATURE LOVER AND VERY ENVIRONMENTALLY CONCIOUS, LOVES TO SCRAP METALS AND REFURBISH/REPAIR/REPURPOSE OTHER PEOPLE'S CAST OFF'S. SINCE HE WAS A BOY, HE COLLECTED GLASS POP BOTTLES FOR CASH, AND THEN LATER, AS AN ADULT HE BEGAN COLLECTING, PROCESSING (HARD WORK), AND SELLING FERROUS IRON, STEEL AND NON-FERROUS METALS, SUCH AS ALUMINUM, STAINLESS STEEL, COPPER, BRASS, AND FROM OLDER TV'S AND COMPUTERS, HE RECOVERED COPPER, SILVER, AND GOLD. ALSO, WHEN I MET HIM, HE HAD BEEN A 'LIVE CATCH AND RELEASE' NUISANCE ANIMAL TRAPPER SINCE HE WAS A CHILD, TAUGHT BY HIS GRANDFATHER. WE HAD A BUSINESS TOGETHER FOR A FEW YEARS TRAPPING NUSIANCE ANIMALS IN SOUTHEAST FLORIDA, AND THEN CONTINUED IT FOR A WHILE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA, WHERE WE MOVED TO ESCAPE THE CRIME THAT CAME WITH THE DEMOCRATS TAKING OVER THAT AREA POLITICALLY. We both love animals DEEPLY and this is another reason why I fell in love with Tristan.    

Tristan also tries to give back by mentoring people with addiction issues, and helping people less fortunate than us, that are in need. he is also adamant about telling people the truth and being honest with them, even though sometimes people resent him for that.  he's helped many people on fixed incomes, many times out of pocket for materials, and with free labor in our area, and continues to do so today.  he does it quietly, and humbly, and He never turns a blind eye to a homeless person, and he does it because it's right, and he feels he owes God that, for all the large and small blessings god has bestowed upon him.