I own it, I did that, not proud, but that was me, and when I face it, I take back a little dignity, not looking for excuses, I just want to be free from power.

Weakness had on me.

Free, free, free, free, free.

Hi, everyone, and welcome to the bubble hour where real people tell real stories of addiction and recovery.

I'm Gene McCarthy.

I write the blog Unpickled, where I've been telling my story of life after alcohol since my first day of sobriety in 2011.

Guys, it's a decade.

In two weeks, it'll be a decade since I quit drinking. And you know what?

I had a drinking dream last week. So even after 10 years, the cravings are gone for the most part.

I don't think about drinking a whole lot. But I do still have those wacky drinking dreams now and then. And I do still

have those moments of wanting something and wishing that I had the quick fix that alcohol used to be,

but I wouldn't go back, not for anything. Anyway, my plans got sent a little bit sideways

today. And the interview that I had canceled

didn't work at, the interview I had planned, God canceled because of some technical trouble

we were having, so we're rescheduling that. And thus, I don't have a guest for you today but I a couple weeks ago took a week off of

podcasting so that I could babysit my little grandkids and of course I don't get to see them too

often so I know you'll forgive me for taking a day to do that and I did hear from some people

who wished I had managed to get something up that week.

So just so that you still see something from me and you know that I'm okay and you know that I'm

thinking of you and continuing to encourage you in your recovery, I thought I'd pop on and quickly

record a little update just to say hello to cheer you on and to give you just a bit

of insight in what's happening in my world these days. The show isn't about me. The show is about

...