Newbies Nest

[available]

Congratulations Lost and you have all the more reason to protect your quit with your life. There is no greater gift to give your family than all of you. I wish i had of done that but the past is the past and my children are all now adults who love me unconditionally and are so proud of who i have become now.

[Byrdlady]

Good morning, all!
L & F congrats on 2 new lives! YOURS and the baby! You will never regret one day you spent sober!
I was out of town with a coworker last night and he didnt drink either! Maybe the worm HAS turned? (Maybe he 's one of us, I didnt ask). It was good to see, tho.
Today is my big presentation and I can barely remember my name! The more I practice the worse it gets! I will he glad when its DONE!
Wishing everyone a peaceful day!! Byrdie

[Lavande]

Good morning Nesters, happy Hump day to all!

LostAndFound, a big congrats to you
The birth of a child is such a special time, you don't want to miss a moment!
I've mentioned many times that it was the birth of my first grandchild that inspired my AF mission. My drinking career started later in life, more of a mid-life crisis sort of thing. Being clear-headed & closely involved with the little ones is the best!!!!

My husband & son went on a fishing trip & presented me with 20 lbs of fish fillets yesterday. I'll be in the kitchen all day today trying to figure out what to do with them - fish cakes maybe? Ha ha!!

LavB, hope you feel better soon!

Have a great AF Wednesday everyone!

Lav

[Lavande]

Cross-post Byrdie!
You'll do just fine, I have complete faith in you

[kherriot]

Hi Newbies, sorry I haven't been on for awhile but have been really busy. Word of advice, do not plant strawberry cuttings in 30 deg C heat. then go spend an hour at the gym. It was a brutal workout but we all enjoyed it, those who showed up. Still have more planting to do but have to go into town today so that will have to wait.

Have a great day everyone.

[Hanna]

Day 11 and feeling strong drink wise. Not so much otherwise but dealing. Will read up and write more later. On my phone now.

[kherriot]

Hanna - hang in there, I have had good and bad days as well but you are doing the right thing. Keep reading the posts and they will inspire you to continue. Things always look different the next day, just pat yourself on the back for staying strong. I found that working out with our little group really helped me.

[meshellrn]

Starting out again. . I realize that my son is having a problem with smoking pot. I am sure my nightly wine drinking has contrubutited to his drug use. He is now in a out patient rehab center. so,..... I am going to support him and for sure help my self, as I start out day one today of not drinking. I am thankful and happy.

[Dutch1988]

Congrats L and F, that is awesome news! I am very happy for ya!

It's funny I always assumed I would have to stop my drinking when I had my first one, but I probably drank more than ever in the lead up to and first few months of her life. I was sober for the month before her due date(epiphany moment, I think I threw my drink out the the front door mid drink), and then the day before she was induced, we went out to eat. I ordered my DOC thinking what's the harm, I wont drink with a newborn around. That one drink led to a drink the next weekend, which led to I don't even know...the rules changed so fast haha. A new life is a great gift, but don't let it blind you to the immense amount of stress it will put on you, and if you have simultaneous stress from work or elsewhere, you better have those coping strategies hammered out. Not talking to you L&F as much as I am myself. I am sure we will be trying again soon but on the flip side I am packing my A team since I am 10 days away from 90 days sober (if that sounded vulgar I apologize but it's true =D)

Got into a argument with my twin last night. Funny how we are talking about not changing people and all I have been focusing on for the past few months is trying to improve my brothers mental health situation. I worry I am going to have to take everyone's advice on here and just let it go. Last night was a step in that direction, as I am tired of putting in extra work hours and being paid the same rate as him. It started with me trying to split up the tasks, and then we realized that I have specialized some things that only I can do, or he does not want to do, because of his situation more work stress is hard on him, he is already doing a lot for someone in his condition. Still, when he came back to our business we were both working hard to make his pay equal to mine, which was fine. Now our pay is the same, I am working just as hard and he has stepped back, so I am working to maintain both our incomes, which to me is no longer fair. I said I didn't mind 10-11 months ago when he started having trouble again because i assumed it would be more temporary, but that does not seem to be the case. He is going to try to carry more weight this next month, and if that doesn't work out we will go from there.

[Byrdlady]

I survived the presentation! It wasnt great, but I got the point across, and we are moving to the next level, so that's good! Glad thats done! Now I am packing for vacation!

Good to see everyone, welcome back Meshell! I had to make up my mind that I was sticking with this, no matter what! So far, so good! Wishing you all the best! Byrdie

[jane27]

Glad your presentation went well Byrdie! Vaca here you come!

[crockettaa]

Me too meshellrn! I didn't drink for a month, then decided I would allow myself one glass of wine when we went out for dinner. Somehow by the end of the week I had 3 empty wine bottles under my bathroom sink & a couple of mystery bruises to boot! Back to the drawing board. Good luck with your son & good job to not drink tonite! We're going to feel so much better in the morning!

[abcowboy]

Howdy all! Some troubling times for some of the Nesters, don’t feel bad, you’re not alone. All of us have gone through the troubles and struggles. Maybe not as life altering as some, but still drastic in our own minds. What you have to do is think of them as obstacles, something to get over and help to strengthen your resolve.

I ignored similar obstacles for most of my life. I would have told you that I was a liberal, well-educated, philosophically-inclined, intelligent and well-informed chap, a credit to my mother, my school and my community, and an excellent judge of fine liquor. All but the last were debatable. In reality I was a hard-headed, opinionated, fuzzy-thinking, gun-loving a**hole and a drunk. And no, I’m not being hard on myself.

I had some good qualities, for sure. I tried to be a good father, husband, son, and so-on-and-so-forth. I was kind to animals, fumbled around helping people in various ways, went to church to please my family, worked hard at my various careers and tried to be a nice guy. For the most part I hadn’t a clue, but I bumbled along until the last two or three years of my drinking without hurting anyone too much — I thought. Of course there was the failed marriage, bitter divorce, poor example for my kids, obligations not met, etc.

I mention these things to indicate to you, that I was a pretty messed up guy for about ten years. Then I got into booze, and the next 25 were a real picnic! I’m not proud of that, but nowadays it doesn’t upset me much, either. Like most everyone, I tried to do my best and, considering the obstacles I put in my own way, I didn’t do near as badly as I might have. But that’s not the reason it fails to upset me.

I’ve come to realize that I was not a happy camper from an early age, and that I would likely have been a pretty miserable s.o.b. even if I hadn’t discovered the wonders of modern living through alcohol. I didn’t know how to be happy, and if I hadn’t had my ass kicked by alcohol and needed to solve that, I would probably never have realized that things could be different.

But — thank Heavens or whomever — I am an alcoholic. And I am in recovery, the results of which — for me, anyway — have made all the misery of the preceding years a high but bearable price for what I now have: peace of mind, the ability to be alone with myself while feeling as though I’m in pretty good company, a better understanding of people and my relationships with them, and a spiritual–if not religious–life. Cheap at this price.

[Lavande]

Good evening Nesters,

Good post there cowboy! You have definitely got this

Welcome back meshell & crocketta!
Get some solid plans in place & strap yourselves in the nest for a while.

I spent the day making fish cakes, not so much fun but I was told they were good. They have 'real dairy' in them so I can't eat them, ha ha! The things we do for family

Wishing everyone a safe & peaceful night in the nest!

Lav

PS: Have a great vacation Byrdie!!!

[Pavati]

Good night nest. Out late at son's game.

Pav