As I pass my 8th month of sobriety, I had an experience yesterday that made me truly grateful that I have have a new outlook on life and a new way of living.
I stopped drinking in the Spring, and did so through both MWO and AA. I learned that it wasn't necessarily drinking that was my problem - I had to undergo a fundamental change in the person that I was, and that meant letting go of all the anger, resentments, and problems in my life that I had no control over.
I grew up heavily involved in sports, and to this day still do a lot of cycling, running and weight lifting. I've always wanted my son to be involved in sports as well, and in the past pushed him to do baseball, soccer, etc. He was been more than willing to try, but especially this year was never really good at catching a baseball, or kicking a soccer ball - but he always gave it his best.
Now, if this had been several years ago, I'm sure that I would have been resentful that he wasn't trying hard enough or wasn't as good as I thought he should be in sports. This year, I was able to accept that he is the way he is, and I practiced with him when he wanted to and let it go when he didn't. It was at times difficult because he would get frustrated, but I didn't push it as I wanted it to be on his own terms.
Yesterday, we received a letter from his school saying that he had failed a vision screening test and that we should get his eyes checked.....
All of a sudden everything clicked as to why he was having trouble catching, batting, kicking , etc. - and I got on my knees and thanked God that I hadn't told him I was disappointed in him for the way he performed, and I know that if I wasn't working my program that I would be drunk now over the shame I felt.
Thank you to all of my friends that I have on this site - I doubt that I could have done it without you. I would also say that there is a better life out there without alcohol. It's not easy to do, but the rewards are truly incredible.
AAthlete
I stopped drinking in the Spring, and did so through both MWO and AA. I learned that it wasn't necessarily drinking that was my problem - I had to undergo a fundamental change in the person that I was, and that meant letting go of all the anger, resentments, and problems in my life that I had no control over.
I grew up heavily involved in sports, and to this day still do a lot of cycling, running and weight lifting. I've always wanted my son to be involved in sports as well, and in the past pushed him to do baseball, soccer, etc. He was been more than willing to try, but especially this year was never really good at catching a baseball, or kicking a soccer ball - but he always gave it his best.
Now, if this had been several years ago, I'm sure that I would have been resentful that he wasn't trying hard enough or wasn't as good as I thought he should be in sports. This year, I was able to accept that he is the way he is, and I practiced with him when he wanted to and let it go when he didn't. It was at times difficult because he would get frustrated, but I didn't push it as I wanted it to be on his own terms.
Yesterday, we received a letter from his school saying that he had failed a vision screening test and that we should get his eyes checked.....
All of a sudden everything clicked as to why he was having trouble catching, batting, kicking , etc. - and I got on my knees and thanked God that I hadn't told him I was disappointed in him for the way he performed, and I know that if I wasn't working my program that I would be drunk now over the shame I felt.
Thank you to all of my friends that I have on this site - I doubt that I could have done it without you. I would also say that there is a better life out there without alcohol. It's not easy to do, but the rewards are truly incredible.
AAthlete
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