Today marks nine full years of sobriety for me. Just a few weeks ago, my fiance asked me a question that’s been nagging her for a bit.

What can I do to help you celebrate your milesone?

My response surprised even me.

Nothing. Please don’t do anything special.

After giving it a moment of thought, the answer was clear. I don’t want any single day to be more special than the previous or the next. Every moment since the 17th of May, 2013 has been a challenge and a gift. It doesn’t matter what arbitrary measure of time we use to describe it—be it hours, days, months, or years — because I don’t want today to outshine tomorrow.

I avoid talking about the journey that got me to the point of cutting alcohol out of my life. In fact, there are only a handful of people who are in my life now that were there before – even fewer that really understand where I was and why I’ve made the choices that I have.

The ony things that anyone reading this should take away:

• Every moment staying sober can be a major a milestone.
• No one needs a reason to quit drinking.
• No one owes you an explanation of why they quit drinking.
• Never ask anyone why they don’t drink.