Bretton Pikey: Recovery allows thanks for mundane

Bretton Pikey plans on spending this holiday season being thankful for the little things.

It's only been two weeks Monday since Pikey, 29, has been home from a four-month stay at an institution, recovering from a substance abuse problem, and she has developed a new appreciation for the mundane.

Cooking dinner for her family, dressing her son in his Sunday best for church, even washing dishes, a chore she used to despise, she has come to relish, Pikey said as she slathered mayonnaise on a bologna sandwich for her 2-year-old son, Scott Jr., in the kitchen of her Cape Girardeau home.

"I used to be a neat freak," Pikey said.

"Now if that little boy wants to spill milk on the couch, it's fine -- I'll even play in it with him," she said, laughing at how much her recent experience has changed her.

Pikey's battle against substance abuse was not a recent struggle. For the past several years, she fought to stay clean, getting involved with Celebrate Recovery, a faith-based rehabilitation program, and staying active with her church. She even pursued a degree at Southeast Missouri State University in criminal justice, with a minor in social work/drug rehabilitation.

Then, last January, losing her job amid a painful miscarriage followed by severe postpartum depression contributed to triggering a relapse of methamphetamine abuse.

"I took the easy way out," Pikey said.

The coming months would be the hard part: Pikey chose to turn herself in and undergo treatment at an institution. She weighed just 95 pounds at the time.

"You hear horrific stories there that will throw in your face what can happen to you," she said. She vowed then to do whatever it took to never return, she said.

The day Pikey arrived home, she recalled her husband greeting her at the end of the drive, holding Scott Jr. She took her son in her arms and savored the comforting grip of his tiny hands gripping her shoulders, she said.

Pikey is now pregnant again with what will be her third child and plans on completing her degree at Southeast and becoming a counselor, wanting to help others with their recovery form substance abuse battles. She says she gives the most thanks to her family for standing by her side.

"I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not an approaching train," she said of her recovery.