Life Interrupted
Lets normalize talking about all things the world has deemed taboo? Do you like wine, coffee, target, tacos & tequila? Ever feel depressed, anxious, or just like you're losing your mind?If yes, then you've come to the right podcast because this is what this podcast is about. We talk about all things real, from motherhood to family, friendships, children, and all the chaos in between. I could go on and on but lets dive right in...This is Life Interrupted.
Life Interrupted
Strength after the unthinkable
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Some stories remind us that even in life's darkest moments, hope is still possible.
In this episode of Life Interrupted, I sit down with Chrissy a woman whose life has been shaped by resilience, faith, and the courage to keep moving forward. Born and raised in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, Chrissy has been sober for many years, a personal choice that became one of the greatest foundations of her strength.
After the heartbreaking loss of her daughter, Ava, Chrissy faced a grief no parent should ever have to endure. Through that unimaginable pain, she has continued to show up for herself, her family, and her two children, choosing healing one day at a time.
Together, we have an honest conversation about sobriety, grief, motherhood, healing, and what it means to rebuild your life after loss. Chrissy's story is one of perseverance, hope, and the quiet strength it takes to keep going when life changes forever.
Whether you're navigating grief, recovery, or simply trying to find your way through life's hardest seasons, this conversation is a reminder that healing doesn't mean forgetting—it means learning to live, love, and carry on with courage.
🎙️ Life Interrupted Podcast
Real conversations. Real life. Real women.
Welcome back to Life Interrupted. Today I'm sitting with Christy, and this conversation is about motherhood, sobriety, grief, and finding a way to keep living after life changes in a way you never imagined. Christy has New York City roots, an unbreakable spirit, and a story I think people need to hear. So before we get into all the real shit and you know, all the sad stuff, and we start crying, I want to know who you are. What were you like growing up? Who, you know, somebody asked you, nobody, somebody didn't know your story and they asked you who you were, what would you say to describe yourself?
SPEAKER_01Well, growing up, I was very quiet. I was always this little tiny petite little girl with a bowl haircut that I think so many of us girls from the West Side had growing up. I was always with a big group of friends who were just so amazing growing up in House Kitchen. It was just so amazing. So that really made me who I am today. And I'm a mom first and foremost, and I'm someone who loves deeply. And I now realize that life can be beautiful and painful at the same time. And I am still work in progress.
SPEAKER_00Oh my God. I remember you definitely had an amazing group of people around you. And I remember when I used to go down to the city and you know, seeing you guys and even seeing you guys now with your kids, and everybody had kids, and everybody's married or with someone, and how life changes so much, but to see that you guys are still very much a knit group of people that are still in each other's lives is really amazing. You don't, there are not a lot of people that can say they're still friends with people that long and that close. Right. Yeah. So I think that's that's completely beautiful in every way in life. And to have that group of friends and that bond, you know, you're you're definitely blessed in that way.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I definitely had uh an amazing childhood, an amazing, you know, growing up in the neighborhood with so many people that I feel in touch in touch with and people who I met and started hanging out with in my teens and then in my 20s. And it's just, I just have an amazing group of people around me.
SPEAKER_00That's amazing. And you need that in life. You need that type of support and that type of family. Sometimes it's not just family, it's the family you create for yourself. So I think that's beautiful in itself. Yeah. So so let's get into your sobriety. What did something happen that made you want to stop drinking altogether and just um say this was enough for me? Was it something that happened in your life? Was it a situation or a feeling? Tell me about that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I started drinking very young. I was like 15 years old when I was drinking. I started hanging out in the bars around 16 years old. Again, I don't know if that was just a West Side Health Kitchen thing, but I did it too.
SPEAKER_00And I was in the wrong.
SPEAKER_01So I guess it was uh I guess it's that time for things like that. Right. So I started drinking really early and I would hang out in the bars that I could get into at that age. And we always had like family parties. There was always parties around, so everything revolved on alcohol around me. So we I would start like drinking, hanging out with my friends, like on the street, and like the exits and stuff like that. And then we would sneak into the bars, we would get thrown at the bars, and we would have house parties. And then I was 21 and I was able to go out on the east side and here and there, and I was everywhere, and we were drinking. That's all we did. We hung out and we drank. Yeah. If we went to dinner, we would drink and then hang out in a bar. If we went to the movies, we would drink after. It was just it was what it was. And then I had Ava. I was 25 when I had Ava, and I still continue to drink, and I started blacking out a lot. So every time I would drink, I would black out. No matter what I drank. I drank very fast. I was always thinking about my next strength. So I was either double-fisted or had a drink and a shot, and I would think about my next strength. So I drank very fast and a lot. I would always black out. So when I blacked out, I would still be out for hours after that. And then the morning would come and I would be like, oh my goodness, what did I do? Every single time. So I would call my friends, my family, like, what did I do? I would lose my phone, my wallet, my keys. It was just horrible. And it just continued on and continued on and continued on. And it got worse. I was, I would black out quicker than I normally would. And yeah, it was it was very messy. It caused a lot of problems. I would come home. My kids would see me like that. People would have to bring me home. Thank goodness I was very lucky to have all these amazing people around me to bring me home. I would ruin their night. They wouldn't get somewhere to me. But thank goodness they got me home safely. And I'm so grateful for that. And you know, Ava seen a lot. And so as time went by, you know, everybody was I was drinking and COVID hit. And then that's when everybody was like on lockdown and everybody sort of drinking more at home.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah. I didn't drink them during COVID.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I was drinking at home during COVID. And I would wake up in the morning and I would think, what was I gonna drink? You know, if I was gonna drink red wine later on in the evening, then I would have like the high noons in the daytime. Or if I was gonna drink like white wine, I would start early. So I kind of had my day down. And then it got to the point where I was like putting my alcohol in, you know, like a Yeti cup or something like that. So my kids could my kids couldn't see it.
SPEAKER_00Oh wow.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So then it was my birthday, May of 2020. It was like a couple of days before my birthday. And my friend, Jamie, I was I asked her to come over. She had kids who were close with my kids. So I was like, let's just hang out on my terrace and you know, I'll have a few drinks for my birthday. So I went to the liquor store and I bought beer. I bought beer, I bought um wine, and I bought margaritas, like the pre-made margaritas. I think Jamie, Jamie had like two beers and I drank everything. I drank it all. And I remember I remember my brother coming up, my youngest brother, and and that was it. I don't remember anything. I woke up the next day, had all these text messages from my mom and you know, my friend, and my kids were here, and I just I felt horrible. I I just was scared, I was anxious, the anxiety, I felt sick. I was like, what happened? I didn't leave my house, but I was just blacked out drunk in my house. So that's when I was just like, Yeah, okay, I think I need to relax a little bit. So, yeah. So all the years moving up, and you know, I had a my mom was mad at me, my kids were mad at me. It was just like, and that was nothing new, you know. Everyone was always upset with me because of the way that I got. And when I was going out, you know, my dad would say to me, My mom would say, Please wash what you're drinking, please don't get so drunk. And that wasn't my intention. Like, I didn't want to go out and say, I'm gonna get bombed tonight, but I just did. I didn't know my limit. I didn't have an off switch, you know, it just what I did, and I liked it. I'd like to drink, I like to have fun, but it just went bad. So that day I was like, I can't do this anymore. And I just I just decided that I am done. You know, I just it was enough was enough, and it was just I felt terrible. I felt physically terrible, mentally terrible, you know, just seeing that my kids were here when I I was like sleeping on the couch when they woke up to see me like that, it was just horrible. Yeah, it was just a horrible feeling, like and it always was just horrible. It did, it took a toll on me, and that was like I would say about 15 years I drank like that. Wow, yeah, to where I was like blacking out, you know. When I was young and I was drinking, I wasn't blacking out so much. I did at times, but it got worse as I got older and drank more, and the blackouts just kept on happening. So I think I was like blacking out heavily for about 10 to 15 years.
SPEAKER_00Oh wow, yeah, yeah, it was bad. You kind of get like used to it when you're drinking for that long, it just it's like natural. You go out, you have a few drinks, and then before you know it, you're pissed drunk and you just yeah, and then the the next day trying to remember everything, and yeah, I've never I didn't black, I've never blacked out like that, but I do know what it is to like wake up the next day and ruminate and think about everything and what you don't remember and how did I sound and did I do this stupid and did I and then you know you're asking everybody what the fuck happened that that takes a toll on you all on its own. And it's such a it gives people so much anxiety. Yes, yep. It oh my god, yes. That I've that's happened before where I'm like, what the fuck did I do? Yeah, I can't imagine all those years.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and so many, like so many times I I went out and I was like, all right, I'm just gonna have like two drinks tonight. And sometimes I would, and I would be like, wow, okay, I I had two drinks and I went home, which was very like not a lot. And then sometimes I would go out and I'd be like, okay, and I was just like, I can't, like, I don't know my limit. I I do not know my limit. I drink like I'm this big man, and I just don't have an off switch, you know. So yeah, the best thing for me to do was just to stop drinking altogether because I cannot control my my drinking.
SPEAKER_00That's a big decision to make, and it's like it's not the easiest. What was the hardest part of getting sober and like being around people that did drink still? It was what was that like?
SPEAKER_01It was I felt very I felt awkward at first, you know, because I I would go out and I would socialize with alcohol. So during the first year of sobriety, I was kind of like like a hermit crap. I stayed home. I really wasn't invited many places, which I noticed, which is fine. Um people I was told by other people that people did feel weird drinking around me. And it was just I I I felt very awkward. Like I didn't know how to talk to anybody, I didn't know how to socialize. I felt like people were talking about me. Oh, now Chrissy's sober, you know. So it was like a lot of um, and then I like I felt like guilty. I would I would think about everything and everything that I put everybody else through. So I kind of didn't want to be around people much. So the first year sobriety was it was it was difficult, but it also was a a wake-up call to me, you know, and honestly, I would never go back. Right, I don't even think about drinking, I want no part of it, honestly, because it doesn't do any good for me. Does nothing for me. And then yeah, I think that was like the hardest part.
SPEAKER_00Wow, and that transition from going from like the way you were before to now not even thinking about it. It's not it's not something you need to go out and have a good time.
SPEAKER_01No, not at all.
SPEAKER_00And I'm sure did that feel weird like after the first year? How many years did that feel weird, like going out, not having a drink, and just did the how long did it take for the awkwardness to subside?
SPEAKER_01So I went out probably maybe like twice during the first year. But then again, now you know, where does end in COVID? Nothing's open, no, nobody goes out anymore, you know. So if I would go into like a bar, like just to eat or something, I would feel like, okay, is everybody looking at me? Is everybody like like, oh, Chrissy's not drinking? You know, so I was thinking about what other people were thinking, how other people felt around me, you know.
SPEAKER_00It's a lot of pressure all by itself.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And then finally, it was finally my third year of sobriety. It was May. My now, my my sobriety date is May 16th, and my birthday is May 18th. So it was my my third year of sobriety, and I felt great. I was like, oh my goodness, I had three years, my kids were so proud of me. Ava was so proud of me. And that's when I felt normal. That was actually when I was like, okay, I feel great in my sobriety. I was so proud, I was so happy, and then tragedy struck. You know, so it's like I got through my sobriety and I was starting to feel normal, like back to life, and then it was something up.
SPEAKER_00And then years later, you know, alcohol became it was it was done. You that part of your life was fixed, and you kind of got the hang of that, and then tragedy struck. Yeah. Unthinkable happened.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So before we get into what happened to Ava, I want to know who Ava was. I have seen online how loved she was. I've seen through Megan. I mean, I remember I think I've seen your daughter maybe once or twice when I used to go down to the city. Um, I've seen you guys travel, like Instagram and social media, I've seen your life with her. And just from looking at that, I've seen what a remarkable young lady she was and how loved she was. So before we get into what happened to her, tell me about her. What are what is one of your best memories of her growing up and what it what was her personality like?
SPEAKER_01She was just amazing. She was she was just so beautiful. She was this little girl who would stand in my living room about two years old and sing uh songs from Annie. The sun will come out tomorrow. I have that on video, which I'm so happy I have that. And she would dance and she would sing and she would laugh, and she was funny, and her personality was just like so angelic, you know. She was caring and loving, and she just wanted to make everybody happy around her. And you know, she went to Catholic school, she went to Secret Heart till fourth grade. And then I switched her over to public school, PS 51 on 44th Street. She did fifth grade there, and in fifth grade, they have a program uh called uh Broadway Kids, and they do a partnership with Rosie's Theater Kids. So they come in and they teach them all this Broadway dancing and singing and stuff, and they put on a show, and then after that, they invite a couple of students to come and be a part of their program through high school, and Ava was invited to do that. So she can so that was where she really opened up about performing, you know. She was in like dance class and stuff like that, younger, but this is where she really opened up about performing, and she was going to see Broadway shows at from the age of two, so she was raised on Broadway, like I was raised on Broadway in all the houses and seeing all the shows and running around the theater, and she um went to performing arts high school, and she just was an amazing performer. She loved to sing and dance, and she um had such an amazing group of friends from so many different areas. So seeing Ava with all these different groups of friends made me see how amazing she really is because she was the same person with everyone that she hung out with.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_01And she shared her love and she just wanted she always wanted to give and she never wanted anything back. You know, she was loving, she loved her siblings, she loved her grandparents.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01Her aunts, her uncles, she was just such a she was such a family person.
SPEAKER_00And all the people, yeah.
SPEAKER_01All her cousins looked up to her, she looked up to all her older cousins, and in this, you know, in our family, like we have so many cousins, and we're all you know, we're all raised as siblings, you know, we're cousins, yeah. We're like raised as siblings, so if we're so close, and Ava absolutely loved that. She loved the family dynamic that we had. And then on her dad's side, also she has cousins too, who she was so close with, and her aunts and her uncles. So Eva was just she really was just a ray of light, a ray of sunshine.
SPEAKER_00She looked like she lit up a room anywhere she went. And this is just from social media that I saw this stuff, and everybody sharing. And I remember you posting, I think she did like a show at one point, and she, you know, pictures and stuff. So she definitely looked like she lit up the room wherever she went. Like people gravitated to her, and you can tell that that's who she was.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, she had she had quite a personality on her, she was very funny. So now that like a lot of her friends send me videos where like I go through her videos, and I'm like, oh my goodness, she's like so funny all the things that she did.
SPEAKER_00And yeah, that's amazing. So tell me what happened to her. Like I read online and stuff, but what was it like for you when you got that phone call? If you're okay with walking me through that.
SPEAKER_01Of course, yes, of course. So it was a Saturday afternoon, and I was working in the theater, and it was um it was about 2 2 30. And I was down in the locker room, and I was talking to my friend who works there, Susan, and um we were talking, and Matt, Ava's father, was ringing my cell phone, and I I I didn't answer it, I was in a conversation. Then he called again, and I said to Sue, I said, I gotta get this call. So I answered it, and there was a couple of people, um, a couple of my offshores downstairs now, and it was Matt, and he was screaming, and I couldn't really make out what he was saying. And he said, All I kept hearing say was hit by a car, hit by a car. And I was like, What? And he said, Ava, and I heard him, but I was like, he didn't just say that. He's not saying Ava, you know, and he said, Ava got hit by a car. And I'm like, Okay, what what is what happened? And he was like, I think it's her leg, but he was screaming, and then I started screaming in the theater, and I like I collapsed on the floor. And my manager at the time and security guard came over and they like picked me up and I started screaming, and I just ran out of the theater. And Susan came with me, and they got me into a cab, and I didn't even know what was happening. He didn't know what was happening, where they were taking her. So we got to my building and I called my dad to come downstairs because he has a car, and Matt told me to go to the hospital. So we were going out to um Queens County Hospital, where they said they were taking her. So we're on our way there, and then he called me back and he said, No, uh, Brookdale, I believe it was um in Brooklyn. So that's where we were going. And the ride there felt like it was 10 hours to get there. You know, nobody knew what was happening. Matt was denied entrance into the ambulance with her, so he didn't know what was going on, and it just felt like it took forever to get there. So when we when we get to the hospital, I go up and I seen that they were like a little hesitant, and they were like, one second, someone's gonna come get you. So now it's me and Emma, my daughter, came with me to the hospital because we had no idea. We thought it was her leg, like she was okay, it was her leg. So Emma was with me, and we get there, and now the nurse or doctor, I don't remember who it was, caught and they bring us to the back. And once they take me, I just seen police officers, I seen doctors, I just seen people standing there. I seen Matt's wife, Jen, sitting on the floor, and she was like shaking, and I was like, What? And now Matt is just standing in front of me and he's just like shaking his head and he's just crying and he's like, She's gone, she's gone. And I was like, What? Like, I was just my mind was so blown. I I just I couldn't believe it. I I I remember I collapsed and I just started screaming. And I said to the uh the police offer who was trying to pick me up, I said, go get my dad. My dad came in, and it was just it, it was just crazy. Like it I felt like this is not happening. This is crazy, like this is a joke, this isn't happening. So then I didn't see her yet, and she was in a room, and Emma just took off. I remember her screaming, my sister, my best friend, and she went running in to Ava, and I ran after Emma. So that's when we went in, and Ava was she was covered, and um, she looked beautiful, you know. She was just laying there, and um it was just like it was just such a weird feeling. Like I'm I'm never gonna forget like the smell of the hospital and and the way she smelled, and it was just something that I never want anyone to ever go through. You know, like I I I I blacked out at some point, you know, and then it was just so hard to leave her side. You know, they they uh they had her covered like up to her up to her chin, you know. She was she was pretty pretty bad, but thank goodness her face was okay. Yeah, you know, yeah. So that day does pop in my head a lot, and I've learned to shut it down. So I take when that is coming, when that thought is coming into my head of that day, I turn it around. And I think of Ava laughing and singing and talking to me and having a conversation because I don't, I don't, I can't think of that. It's just so brutal. And I want to I want to put those feelings into something happy with Ava.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I can't imagine what you felt. I I cannot imagine. I I cannot imagine how it was going forward in life and all those things. How was it? You know, you have two other kids and they were very close with her. Yeah, I do remember. How was it having to still show up for them and helping them grieve while you were grieving? And trying to understand what was happening. Because I could imagine it felt like a movie, like it wasn't real. Like you're watching this, but it's this, is this happening? Is this reality? Like I can only imagine feeling completely disconnected from what's real and what's not at that point from a mother's standpoint of view. So I how how was that going forward and helping them work through their grief and go through yours?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So it was hard because I didn't even, I didn't know what was happening. I didn't know, I didn't know what to do. I was just so broken and just so I just shut down and I was angry. I was hurt. I was just so many emotions. And we came home that night and me and Emma slept together on the couch. And Hudson, he wanted to do it by himself. So I I gave him his space. And I just remember waking up the next day and looking at Emma like, what I'm I don't even know what to do. What am I supposed to do now? Like I lost my daughter, Emma lost her sister, Hudson lost her sister, everybody was just so frantic, you know. And we just we just cried, we stayed together, and I remember I think I kind of like I shut down and I was like to myself to wish I wish I I didn't do that. So the first year was really rough, you know. We we were all in therapy, and I was in therapy before losing Ava. And I continued with therapy after losing Ava for one year, and Emma also for one year. Hudson chose not to, which was fine. And it was one year, and Emma and I both decided that we wanted to take a break because it was coming to the point where I knew my therapy session was coming, and I didn't want to talk anymore. I didn't want to talk about it. And in speaking to my therapist, I just felt like I just kept on repeating the same things, and she kept repeating the same things, and it's just like it just didn't do anything for me, you know.
SPEAKER_00It becomes a cycle of the same conversation because that's what that's what started out. So that kind of becomes a topic in therapy sessions a lot.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I I had that feeling, and then I I spoke to Emma and she had the same feeling. So we both felt the same way, and we both pulled away from therapy, you know, and now moving forward from that year, I I feel like we communicate more, you know. Um, I feel like we we took our grief and kind of we know how to carry it differently, you know. Um we're still not in therapy at the at the moment. I do ask the kids if they want to continue. And it's like, no, they're very, you know, they're very social and active and you know, in sports and school and all that stuff. Um so yeah, I think it's just every day we're learning different ways to get through it together. And then, you know, it's seven months after Ava passed away, Hudson's father passed away, my son's dad. So yeah, so that was also another like wow, you know, another wow moment. So again, you know, it's just dealing with the pain and and and we take it day by day, you know, and they know I'm here for them. And they've been so amazing for me too. You know, I know there's so many, there were so many days and nights where I'm just completely shut down and just crying and just like uh and I then I think about it, I'm like, damn, my kids, like what am I doing? Yeah, you know, I got I gotta pick myself up here. Like, yes, I I have my grief and I cry and I I just want to lay in bed and do nothing. But then it's like, well, you can't. You have two kids, you know, you have a dog, yeah, you have you have to you have to get up.
SPEAKER_00It's one of those things where you have to keep pushing and it, I think it kind of becomes a part of you, your everyday life. And it, I don't know, I I've never experienced losing someone to that magnitude, but I want to say when I think of it, it's one of those things where it becomes a part of your daily life where it's not a happy or sad moment. You don't when you laugh about it, do you feel guilty? Did you feel guilty the first time you really laughed?
SPEAKER_01Yes, and I still do. Yes. Yeah. When, you know, when I I feel like when the first time that I felt like I was okay, you know, not like okay, but like I was okay, you know. Yeah. I felt like, oh man, this is weird. Should I be feeling that way? You know, the first holiday season, forget it. It's like I didn't even want to do anything. But then again, I have other children, you know, and it's just like I feel guilty. And then like if I do laugh, I'm like, oh man, I'm laughing. Like, you know, if I'm having a good time, if I'm out, I feel like people are looking at me like, how was she out having a good time when her daughter was killed? You know, and then it's like I I I you know, I I I think to myself, I'm like, no, they're not, they're probably happy for me that I'm out having a, you know, a good time. So it's like so many weird things, you know. It's like I want to enjoy life and I wanna have fun with my family and my friends and my kids, but then it's like, am I supposed to be doing that? Yeah, you know, and then I I have a friend of mine who would always say to me, How are you? And I would say, I'm okay. And one day he said to me, Are you ever gonna say that you're good? Like that you're doing good. And I said, I will eventually, I will eventually. So I moved on from that and I think about it, and I'm like, Wow, I think I can say I'm good now, you know? Yeah, I mean, I'm not good, but um in a different place, like I carry the grief differently, I feel it differently, I feel it every single day, and it's still very heavy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. But I think you'll go through seasons like that where it feels different and it's not gonna fold the way it did the first day. I don't think it's something you'll ever be completely okay with.
SPEAKER_01But no, it's definitely a it's definitely a part of me every single day. You know, Ava, Ava is in my my brain every single second I'm thinking of her and feeling her, and you know, it's just it's just it's a wave. Wow, it literally is a wave.
SPEAKER_00What would you say to a mother that has just experienced what you experienced losing a child and um still having to show up in life? And what would be your best advice for someone going through that?
SPEAKER_01I would tell her that it's a roller coaster, it's a wave. You have to take it day by day. And sometimes it's not even day by day, it's it's moment by moment, it's second by second, because you could be feeling okay right now, and five minutes later you could be laying on the floor crying. Yeah, you know, I a big support system is really helpful, which I have. I am blessed with a huge support system. Take your time. You know, this is something that you're gonna have to get through on your, you know, you have to go through the feelings and emotions, and you just take your time, don't force yourself into anything that you don't want to do. You know, if you if you don't want to show up, then don't show up. If you don't want to go to a party or a dinner, or if you need to call off a mark, you do that because you have the right to do that.
SPEAKER_00And if Ava could see you today, sitting here, how far you've come, not just with your sobriety, but you know, you as a person, your kids, and your grief and how you've handled it. What do you think she'd be most proud of, her mom?
SPEAKER_01I think she would be most proud of that I am still sober, that I made six years sober in May. I think she would be proud of that. I think she would be proud of the way that I look at life now. Ava was a very spiritual person, a very earthy person, very soulful person, and I've learned to live that way. I've opened my eyes to the world and spirituality, and just seeing life for how it is, and just taking the bad and the negative and kind of turning that into something positive, a positive feeling. I just I want to put my energy into positivity and happiness, just as she would. So I think she would be very yeah, I think she would be very proud of that.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I definitely think she's proud of you, and I think you should be proud of yourself. Like you've come so far, and you you show up for your kids still, and you put a smile on your face and you push through all of that, and even staying sober throughout all of this, I mean, that is the strength that and resilience, and your kids are very blessed to have you. And that wasn't easy. I can't imagine what you went through. Thank you. But even staying sober doing something like that, that's a huge accomplishment.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So I think she would be so proud of you. I think everybody's proud of you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I they are, and I think, you know, the night that Ava passed away, um, I think everybody was really afraid. No, but of course drinking, you know, and I I I think that I I didn't think about it, but I did think about it. And if I were drinking in that moment, it would have been bad. You know, I feel like me getting sober three years before Ava passed away was kind of preparing me for this. Because if I was the drinking Chrissy versus the sober Chrissy, it would have been different.
SPEAKER_00Of course. Yeah. And and your kids would have felt it differently too. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. What a story. Thank you, Chrissy, so much for coming on and trusting me and having this conversation and sharing all this with all these people that need to hear this because they think these are stories that other people need to hear that are in these situations, even getting sober or losing not just a child, but a you know, a husband or somebody close to you and understanding that they're not alone in this.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You know, so thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story and everything that happened and look at you today. Yeah, thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my story. I'm very happy. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Happy that I did.
SPEAKER_00Me too. You look amazing.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. So do you.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. I'm just I'm happy that you came on and oh my god, thank you so much for doing this.
SPEAKER_01You're welcome, and thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00Before I end this episode, I wanted to leave you guys with this. Today's conversation was heavy, but it was also really important. We talked about grief, we talked about loss, we talked about sobriety. And I think the biggest thing to remember is that moving forward does not mean forgetting what happened or forgetting those that you lost. Chrissy's story is one of those stories that shows you moving forward is not the same thing as moving on. You can laugh again and still grieve. You can miss your kid and still have happy moments, and you can keep living without ever feeling like you're leaving them behind. And her sobriety through all of this says so much. You know, when life gave her every reason to numb the pain, to continue to stay on her path of being sober and choosing to show up for her friends and family and those that support her. And I think that when we go through things, I think we put so much pressure on ourselves, you know, to be okay, to make sure we're we're okay all the time and we're getting through this and we're we're doing this and we're doing that, and not giving ourselves enough time to process. But also remember that we do have to live too. And we have, you know, if you have kids, you have other people to live for. So give yourself grace and continue to move forward. Even if the one thing you do that day is you take a shower and you got out of bed, or you got your kids to school, or you made it to work on time, that's still moving. So if you're listening to this and you're grieving, struggling with sobriety, or just going through something that has completely changed your life in every way, shape, or form, keep choosing yourself. Keep choosing the people who love you and keep getting up for you. And please hug your people. Tell them you love them. Life can change so fucking fast. Tomorrow's never promised. And we don't know how much time we have here. And literally the next day, your life can be altered in ways that you've never imagined. So love those around you and continue to show up for yourself. Thank you guys for listening to another episode of Life Interrupted. I love you guys, and I'll see you next Monday.