~cattleman cafe~ & another 24...

[abcowboy]

That's right [MENTION=24080]Jude58[/MENTION], relapse doesn't have to be a part of recovery, but so often that's the case. And as [MENTION=17632]Mr Vervill[/MENTION] said, when we start getting complacent, we unlock the door to slipping or relapsing. I keep thinking that I "need" to get to that 5 year mark then all my thoughts about drinking will magically disappear. I know in my head that that's not the case, I'll always have to keep my guard up. And I also have to get the "need" out of my head and put the "want" back in my heart...

Glad you enjoyed the visit with the old friends [MENTION=17632]Mr Vervill[/MENTION]! I've found a few, and a few found me via FB and it's been fun catching up on everyone's lives!

[paulywogg]

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

That's a great post Cowboy 5:43 am in Vegas another 24

[Ginger999]

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

Great quote! I'm a perfect example of what happens when complacency takes hold. I'm back to the place I was before I thought I could drink mindfully. It feel great not having AL thoughts all the time but I know those thoughts are tucked away in the corner of my mind and complacency is the devil that would allow them to surface again. That just cant happen again!

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

[Quit wining]

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

Another 24 hours please & thank you.

Another medical appointment this morning for Mrs QW and this afternoon our Parkinson support group meets.

Rava, as frustrating as this stupid recurring charge was that necessitated getting a new credit card, one time I got a bill in the mail from an energy supplier for about $130 saying I was past due. They threatened legal action if I didn’t pay immediately. I didn’t have an account with these clowns! When I called to ask WTH, I was told the supplier I paid each month hadn’t remitted payment to them so they were going after home owners to get the money supposedly due to them. It took a couple of hours on the phone to resolve this. At the time I was a small business consultant so I sent them a bill for my time, 2 hours at $250 an hour. Needless to say I’m still waiting for payment but they did cancel the “account” they created for me.

Just about to hit the road for my morning walk with Jessie. Cool & cloudy this morning.

Have a great af Thursday everyone!

QW

[Jude58]

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

“I wanted a drink. There were a hundred reasons why a man will want a drink, but I wanted one now for the most elementary reason of all. I didn't want to feel what I was feeling, and a voice within was telling me that I needed a drink, that I couldn't bear it without it.

"But that voice is a liar. You can always bear the pain. It'll hurt, it'll burn like acid in an open wound, but you can stand it. And, as long as you can make yourself go on choosing the pain over the relief, you can keep going.”

― Lawrence Block, Out on the Cutting Edge

I used alcohol to blot out anything painful or unpleasant in my life....turns out that half of my
problems were cause by the booze!

Another 24 please and thank you!

[Rava]

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

Good morning Cafe. Jude, you are so right. Booze causes most of our problems and we just can’t see it.... I drank not only for sad and stressful times but happy times as well. The fact that booze is a depressant makes it understandable how we get caught up in sad and emotional moments. I can certainly recall not only myself but others who cry sloppy tears when hammered. UGH. That ship has sailed!!! Any time my beast says “wouldn’t it be nice” I immediately SHUT it down!!! I am choosing to live the rest of my life (not much of it left due to age) AF! Feeling strong in my mind and heart is how I want to be. Hope everyone has a great Friday. QW, there are some shady characters out there. I’m sure you will not get your 250.00. Don’t hold your breath!

[dill]

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

There's some really good reading here this morning. Thanks for all the thoughtful reflections Ginger, Rava and Cowboy.

I haven't had the recurring payments issue with my credit card but I can relate to your stories QW and Rava. I'm really leery of setting up auto payments but, I've done it anyway . So far so good tho, fingers crossed.

Yesterday was the National Day of prayer and I was invited to a prayer breakfast at the hospital where I volunteer. It was really a nice event with speakers including the Mayor of the town and a prominent local doctor. The food wasn't so great but the food for thought was fantastic, LOL! It was early in the morning so I missed my usual check in time here and forgot to look in later. It was a busy day yesterday. But, here I am today.

24 hours of freedom, please and thank you.

[abcowboy]

6:05am in Alberta, 24 more for me please, and thanks...

4C (40F) this morning. Now we just have to wait for things to dry up enough to start seeding...

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

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

[abcowboy]

Another great quote [MENTION=24080]Jude58[/MENTION]! And as [MENTION=24196]Rava[/MENTION] said, emotional times lead to drinking if you don't know how else to deal with your emotions. That's the way it was for me anyway. And now the only time I get drinking thoughts is when I let my emotions run wild, so I have to stop for a moment, think things through calmly, and away go any thoughts of drinking...

I meant to ask before [MENTION=20929]Ginger999[/MENTION] if you're having a basement in the new house, a crawl space, or slab-on-grade? I imagine forms are getting set up to pour concrete?

I didn't partake in any of the World Day of Prayer [MENTION=7944]dill[/MENTION], but I did take 15 minutes at lunch time to have a chat with the Big Guy. It's amazing how those few minutes ground me and calm me down. Speaking of prayer, I got through Lent without having any trail mix! I started having a small bowl of grapes in the evening and just continued with that. I forgot how good grapes are!

[paulywogg]

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

5:49 am in Vegas another 24 interesting how yesterday was national day of prayer,I had no clue but for some reason found myself praying intensly on my drive to work! Cowboy,it is very calming and centering

[Quit wining]

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

Another 24 hours please & thank you.

Had a good turnout to our Parkinson group yesterday, lots of good discussion.

Yet another medical appointment this morning. Good thing we’re retired! Will take advantage of the opportunity to deliver some posters to promote our Parkinson group.

Have a great af Friday everyone.

QW

[Ginger999]

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

Any reason was a good reason for me to drink. Yuck! Sure don't miss that stinkin' thinkin' but I also know letting my guard down is a recipe for relapse. Onward with diligence and eyes wide open to triggers whatever those might be!

[MENTION=21602]abcowboy[/MENTION], the septic tank went in yesterday and they started digging out the crawl space for the foundation. After that they will install the drain field. Our property is nothing but a hillside so it's scary to watch that equipment crawling around there! Sure glad they know what they're doing.

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

[Jude58]

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

“Your addiction is not your identity, but you won't know that until you're in recovery; that's when the two separate.”
― Toni Sorenson

Asking for another sober day please and thank you!

[Rava]

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

Good morning Cafe. Great quote Jude. Its so true. Once we step away from our addiction, we see things in a different light. Ginger, your view is fantastic. I think of the song I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles....LOL. Looking forward to seeing the progress.. Keep posting if you can. ABC, I like my grapes frozen. Going to see one of the grandchildren play soccer today. Hope everyone has a great day. Another 24 for me please and thanks.

[dill]

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

I am with Rava on your view, Ginger! Wow! Keep posting progress please. Frozen grapes? I never even thought of it. I'm going to give it a try sometime.

Jude, that was a really good quote. It's so sad that when we are in the midst of our addiction that we do come to feel it is part of who we are. Just thinking about that this morning for a few minutes I realized that was why starting the process of quitting was so difficult and even frightening. There was anxiety over the loss of part of myself. I remember being blown away by the absolute obsession I had with alcohol at the very beginning of quitting. It was shocking really what a grip I was in and it clearly wasn't by choice. My choice was to quit but my addicted brain was flooding me with compelling thoughts. Glad that's in the rearview and I intend to keep it there!

24 more, please and thank you.