~cattleman cafe~ & another 24...

[Jude58]

Re: ~cattleman cafe~ & another 24...

Good to see you back QW!! Dill's qoute today was spot on for all of us that have fallen off the proverbial wagon, (or horse) but have pulled ourselves back to sanity. Glad that you enjoyed your trip!

Another 24 please and thank you!

[abcowboy]

6:10am in Alberta, I'll have another 24 please, and thanks...

We started our 2 day reprieve from the bitter cold, -14C (7F) this morning! But Friday it's supposed to plummet again. Better get my outside jobs done today and tomorrow!

In the past 24 hours, these people have signed in for 24 hours of sobriety:
[MENTION=7944]dill[/MENTION] [MENTION=24196]Rava[/MENTION] [MENTION=17632]Mr Vervill[/MENTION] [MENTION=24080]Jude58[/MENTION] [MENTION=20929]Ginger999[/MENTION] [MENTION=22409]Quit wining[/MENTION] [MENTION=17650]paulywogg[/MENTION] abcowboy

Today is going to be a darn good day not to drink!

[abcowboy]

Great to see you back [MENTION=22409]Quit wining[/MENTION], and for getting back in the saddle! The quote [MENTION=7944]dill[/MENTION] had this morning is spot on, mistakes will always be made, sometimes over and over again, we all did it. Remember the things that got you through your AF time, learn from what caused your slip, and carry on. Stick with your quit and you'll be a year sober when you go to Mexico next year!

[Ginger999]

Re: ~cattleman cafe~ & another 24...

I feel like all the chicks are back in the nest. Just remember, no one can take away your accumulated AF time and all that you learn during that time! QW, you still have an "A" in my book.

I'll have another 24, please and thank you!

[Quit wining]

Re: ~cattleman cafe~ & another 24...

Another 24 hours please & thank you. Feels good to write that again!

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and welcome back messages!!

Rava, professional moderation. Great term, even though we know it doesn’t work. Dill, awesome quote. Thanks.

Just saw an ad from my former favourite purveyor of poison that my former favourite beverage is deeply discounted for the next few days. Save money, drink more!! No thanks. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

Hope everyone has a great AF Wednesday.

QW

[paulywogg]

Re: ~cattleman cafe~ & another 24...

3:47 pm in Vegas,another 24 please

[Rava]

Re: ~cattleman cafe~ & another 24...

24 more please. QW, so proud of you and your attitude. If I had a dollar for every time I tried to moderate.......UGH. Took me until my 60’s to get it right. I’m definitely a slow learner. Hope everyone has a great day!

[dill]

Re: ~cattleman cafe~ & another 24...

Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.
~ Buddha

This quote is for me. I fell off the wagon yesterday once again falling for the innocent "what harm could there be in buying one small bottle". The harm is that once again I drank the whole thing myself in the course of a couple of hours. And it just left me feeling unsatisfied and wanting more. I know that it is my thinking that is the problem. There is still that small part of me that has not let go because I have a problem with the permanence. I haven't fully accepted it. So, back to focusing on today only and in the meantime I will work on trying to adjust my thinking. What you said yesterday QW about focusing on the all the goodness and benefits of being AF is what I need to do as I try to work on the forever part. The reason I don't count consecutive days like so many on here can and do, is because I still have this glitch in my thinking. And I don't want to have to say I'm back at day 1 because it feels so much like failure. I have made too many gains and have too many af days to allow myself to feel devastated and back to day 1 like none of the rest counted. Well, anyway. One day at a time and today will be AF.

24 please and thank you.

[Jude58]

Re: ~cattleman cafe~ & another 24...

Awesome quote [MENTION=7944]dill[/MENTION]! It's always my thoughts that are my undoing, as it was last night. We must have been drinking buddies in another life. Like yourself, I don't count days, and saying "back to day one" makes me feel like a failure. I still crave that peaceful sense of well being that I get after a couple of glasses of wine. How quickly we forget how we feel afterwards, and the high price that we pay for our actions. My doctor wants to put me on Naltrexone, but I'm not so sure. Anyone have any experience with that?

Mr. J recently had a biopsy done on his prostate, and today we go in for the results. I'm pretty stressed about that, and it's probably is why I drank last night. Still, not a good idea...

It's 14° and snowing this morning, adding to the 10 inches that we got last night. Spring can't come soon enough!

Asking for the strength to make it through the next 24 hours please and thank you.

[Mr Vervill]

Re: ~cattleman cafe~ & another 24...

33F and cloudy, again.
I just want to say that all AF days are good days. Look at things like Annie Grace says, if you've been sober 98 of 100 days, you've got a 98% success rate. An A in anybody's book.
I've never been a professional moderator, but I've certainly been a professional drinker.
24 more please!

[abcowboy]

5:55am in Alberta, another 24 please, and thanks...

In the past 24 hours, these people have signed in for 24 hours of sobriety:
[MENTION=24196]Rava[/MENTION] [MENTION=7944]dill[/MENTION] [MENTION=3268]Me[/MENTION] Vervill [MENTION=24080]Jude58[/MENTION] [MENTION=20929]Ginger999[/MENTION] [MENTION=22409]Quit wining[/MENTION] [MENTION=17650]paulywogg[/MENTION] abcowboy

Today is going to be a darn good day not to drink!

[abcowboy]

Not sure just what to say this morning, so I'll just say a few things that come to mind....

Permanence and forever... what does that mean and why does it scare us... we need to find happiness and comfort in sobriety to not let "never drinking again" bother us... Maybe that's what "one day at a time" really means, not that we get through the rest of our lives sober by just doing it one day at a time. Maybe it's that "forever" only happens one day at a time...

To count or not to count... do we decide which way to handle that because we're afraid of those Day 1's again? Or because we don't want to admit to ourselves or anyone else that we've slipped once again? I never counted days either, but I kept track to myself. It's not about saying how many days sober, but saying how many days since we moved forward from our final day one. At least that's what counting days does for me...

And yes, it's our unguarded thoughts that undo us....but our unguarded thoughts can also serve to remind us that we have a problem. Normal drinkers don't have to worry about unguarded thoughts, and normal drinkers don't need excuses, and normal drinkers don't need alcohol to deal with life and all the issues that come with it... Don't ever let your thoughts try to convince you that you're a normal drinker... I know I'm not, I'm one drink away from being a drunk again...

[abcowboy]

Hope things go well at the follow up this morning [MENTION=24080]Jude58[/MENTION]! And if the news isn't what you hope to hear, just remember that it's one of the easier cancer's to beat!

[Ginger999]

Re: ~cattleman cafe~ & another 24...

[MENTION=7944]dill[/MENTION] and [MENTION=24080]Jude58[/MENTION], you are still here and you are still trying, that's what matters. Don't ever let a "one night slip" keep you away. If you have time, search YouTube for Annie Grace. She has tons of 10 minute videos on lots of topics. She's a very wise young women.

Had a lovely hike yesterday! I'll take another 24, please and thank You!

[Quit wining]

Re: ~cattleman cafe~ & another 24...

Another 24 hours please & thank you.

Lots of great, interesting conversation here. Counting days, especially publically, is a choice we each make. I used to post regularly in the Nest and Roll Call but stopped about a year ago. I used to worry about admitting to another Day 1 because that was like admitting failure. Every day we don’t drink is a bonus in my opinion and like it was pointed out, if you don’t drink 98 out of 100 days, that’s a 98% success rate. Not bad.
I like what we have here in the Cafe. We share our successes and offer support to others when needed. As Cowboy has pointed out, every day is a darn good day not to drink. We know that moderating doesn’t work for almost all of us. I thought I’d be able to quit after our Mexican holiday but where did I stop on the way home? The liquor store. I’m pleased though that it didn’t take long to realize I needed to be back here among friends.
I know that my alcoholic brain won’t allow me to moderate so one day at a time is very important to me. At times it pisses me off but it’s the reality that I live with.
Almost 36 years ago I quit a pack a day cigarette habit cold turkey. I still consider myself a smoker because I believe that if I had 1 cigarette now, I’d go out and buy a carton and be right back into it.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Thursday, af if possible. And for those of us struggling, it’s encouraging to know that support is here for us when we ask.

QW