16. B. Taught Me That Change Starts When You Decide to Stay

Some battles don’t come dressed like danger. They come normalized. Social. Accepted.

B. names it plainly an active addiction to drugs and alcohol.

And she makes one thing clear, alcohol is a drug too.

There’s no pretending here. No minimizing. No rewriting history. Just truth.

Active addiction took space in her life, in her days, in her choices, and in her body.

And what shifted things wasn’t a miracle moment. It was a decision. A decision to change. A decision to believe change was possible. A decision to stay.

When she talks to someone walking that same road, she doesn’t speak down. She speaks with them: If I can, you can. You can, if you believe you can and you want to overcome active addiction.

That part matters. Desire. Willingness. Choice.

When she wanted to give up, she didn’t pull strength from willpower alone.

She drew it from her love of God. Her love for herself. And her three sons are the reason to keep showing up even when it would’ve been easier not to.

Her quote reflects how she lives now:

“When we start changing, everything gets better with time. Have you noticed our world is constantly changing?”

Because recovery isn’t about perfection. It’s about movement. Progress. Time doing what time does when you stay.

To B.: Thank you for naming addiction honestly. For reminding us that change doesn’t ask for permission, it asks for participation. And for showing what happens when love is stronger than escape.