Kimberly Figures it Out

I promised myself to write a blog that was about me and about who I am today but I have not yet trusted what I might say. I'm worried I'll hurt someone's feelings or embarrass myself and I'm worried I'll be judged for being silly or small or whatever. But…. But …. I need to be real. I decided to get sober in March of 2022. I did it for my kids mostly because I was scared of who I wanted to become when I drank, which is someone who drinks and has fun and is the life of the party. The thing was, I wasn't that person. I was anxious and nervous and cut myself off because though I want to have fun, I am scared of repeating the past.  I've been sober for two full calendar years 2023 and 2024 and this year I will have my 3 year soberversary in March. I have just closed out my second set of sober holidays and this experience feels at once like a revelation and like nothing special.  The day of my last drink we were on vacation in Oceanside and I was in a bad mood. I...

Last year I made a commitment to myself: be done with grinding for free for SFUSD. This promise was easier on paper than in reality and it took me 14 months to finish out all my commitments. Don’t get me wrong: I am proud of many things I accomplished as a heavily invested volunteer. However, the more involved I got, the more supportive I became, the more diminished the returns. Take my social life for instance. They say that these boards are a great way to meet people and they are but they are a great way to either intimidate or alienate most people. On one hand, people are really impressed about the commitment and they thank you for your time and energy you’re putting into the school. On the other hand, they roll their eyes when you invite them to a meeting or when they make a complaint while waiting for the morning drop off to finish and you respond with an educated and nuanced answer. Coffee invites don’t come frequently from that crowd.  Take my favorite example of this scenar...