Like a Lord of the Rings marathon

Trilogies take a long time to finish. You get deeply immersed in them and when they are over, you feel exhausted rather than inspired especially if the trilogy you were watching was Lord of the Rings which lasts longer than The Tour de France. 

Yesterday was step 3 of 3 in the "fix" portion of my recovery. At this point, everything that can be done has been done (with the exception of one nuclear option). Am I relieved that everything is done? Yes. Yes I am. More than I can describe. But the process was exhausting, not just for me but for my friends and family, too. Reaching the end, the finish line, after being immersed so deeply and for so long in something overwhelmingly difficult doesn't give me a feeling of success or victory. Instead of a sense of accomplishment, I only feel relief. No sense of victory, just a sense of survival. No feeling of "woohoo!!!", just a sense of "thank God its over". 

Just like when I once watched the LOTR trilogy back-to-back-to-back. Exactly the same as that. 

But, here's the good part: I get to write the next trilogy, I get to define the next finish lines. Goals of 'survival' are replaced with goals of 'success'. Suffering thru the pain of uncertainty and doubt are replaced with suffering up mountain trails and strained muscles. No more crawling across the finish line battered and broken; only crossing that line with my hands in the air and a smile on my face. 

With any luck, the next trilogy won't take as long as a LOTR marathon.