Newbies Nest

[Byrdlady]

Great post, LilBit. It really IS food for thought on this Monday.

Hope everyone is gearing up for a meaningful week! Put yourself into the service of someone and you will find that whatever you give, you get back in spades!

Happy Monday, Byrdie

[KENSHO]

Love your words of wisdom LilB...

Achilles TRANSPLANT Ginger?! That sounds major! Did you have an injury? How much longer is your recovery?

Woke up with one ear plugged - and I feel really off balance! It's uncomfortable. Felt like I've been fighting something for a few days too - makes me really appreciate health when I have it. It's not guaranteed to any of us - the least we can do is not pour poison down our throats!

I'm really feeling like I could not drink for the rest of my life, and that would be just fine. Feeling kind of over it. I hope that's not overconfidence. And it's not that I believe I'm cured - I just feel so much more at peace with not having it in my life.

[gingerspice]

Very reflective post Lilbit -something to ponder on .
Kensho, I fell down some stairs and banged my ankle. Was told at Casualty it was soft tissue ,it was not properly diagnosed for 5 months ,by which time It had tried to heal and re ruptured. I needed a tendon transfer using the tendon from my Big toe (fhl transfer) as my Achilles tendon was 'shot' .The recovery time is 16/20 weeks .The only positive is that the operation was done by the top ankle Consultant/Surgeon in England .
Glad that you are enjoying some peace from not drinking. It does seem to get less of a battle as time goes on . The only problem I seem to have at times is when my brain tries to trick me into thinking that I am missing out . Playing it through to the end when this happens seems to work for me. I have too much to loose to tread that path again .We need to be on our guard against any false sense of security , it plays into the hands of the AV that is forever dormant but not dead.
take care , off to make the supper X

[Matt M.]

Wow Lil, stellar post on this fine Monday morning..
You should seriously consider writing a book.:hehe:

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[Guitarista]

Yo Nesters near and not so far,

Hope you're not coming down with the flu Kensho. I've just had a rough bout but glad to say it's finally leaving the building. Grateful for returning good health.

Have a bewdy out there. 39 today. :spin:

[LilBit]

Glad you're feeling better, G Man! :llama:

39 is a great number. I've been 39 for a few of my recent b-days.

[Lavande]

Good evening Nesters,

Very nice post Lil, thanks
Honestly, we have to rearrange priorities as we go along in life. Stuff changes, people & circumstances change so we need to be flexible. Nothing is written in stone. Promises are broken but that doesn't need to break us. Glad I finally figured that stuff out

G, glad you are feeling better. I thin you were referring to 39 AF days, right? Good for you!

Kensho, hope you don't get sick - not fun.

Gingerspice, I hope you heal completely & permanently. That's a lot of work on your foot!

Wishing everyone a safe night in the nest. No moon to look at tonight, lots of clouds out there.

Lav

[TJAF]

I've graduated to 49. Can't hide the gray hair. I think I can pull that off for at least three more B-Days. :happy2:

[LavenderBlue]

LilBit, thanks so much for that post, it was perfect!

Today and yesterday have been...exciting. I've been having issues on and off with the new computer, nothing horrible until I came home from work yesterday and it wouldn't recognize its own wireless adapter!!! I did a Windows refresh, googled for possible fixes, and finally gave up and did a factory reset and nothing worked. I was already tired from work (besides the kidsplosion, we got a massive amount of kitty litter donated - about 3 full pallets. Which is awesome, but also very heavy to unload and then move to storage.)

That meant today, other than having to bring a full truckload of odds and ends to the dump, I needed to go out of town to see if Best Buy could do anything for the computer. (They could, and did. The antenna had somehow come loose, from what I understand.) Also the weather kept switching between bucketing down rain and hot and humid. This all should have been very frustrating, and it was to a point. But not nearly as upsetting as it would have been a year or so ago. My mom decided to help out, so we made a day of it and got Chipotle on our way home. It was a pretty good day for a bad day. if that makes any sense at all. I'm glad I wasn't trying to drink anything away, I likely would have missed out on the positives hiding among the negatives today.

[KENSHO]

Doing a little work then headed to bed. Some stressful stuff right now. Significant hearing loss in one ear - I think it's a viral, but it's very uncomfortable. Also, my son is struggling in school with paying attention and getting work done. He is very bright - but doesn't want to stay on task. Getting notes from teachers. I have recognized some of his behavior to be like mine - indulgent and distractable. Trying to help him in ways that have helped me. But husband doesn't understand - to him it's all a matter of discipline - "try harder". It makes me really mad because I do feel he is not fully aware of his struggles or their consequence. Time to use some of those skills recently learned in therapy. It used to be for discomforts like these when I would drink - and if I let myself entertain the thought even a very little, I can find myself wanting it. But I tell it to go away because that's not what I do now.

[Pavati]

Hi, Nest:

I'm BAAAACCKKK!

I had a great short trip with my family - many laughs, some beautiful scenery, and not one hangover. What could be better? There was one big party where someone made a fool of himself, but mostly everyone was just drinking "normally" and having fun. Much needed R & R although I feel very behind now.

I skimmed through the posts, although I didn't get to read them all. Lil - great post this Monday. Accepting that "normal" includes sadness and suffering has been an eye opener for me. Working with my ups and downs rather than fighting against them all of the time seems a lot more productive.

El - I love the story of your horse. Beautiful that you found each other.

Byrd - What a cake!?

Matt - FORGIVE yourself. That has been VERY hard for me, too. Keep sharing your insights with us, if you don't mind.

I'm off to bed now. More later.

Pav

[Londoner]

Back to day 2 again today.

The difference is I am back up on my feet more quickly. I am trying to learn from these experiences now instead of being self critical and being stuck up in my head.

I know there is progress in me still. This time around I am not relying on junk food, caffeine, computers etc. as an escape route. I was back into work on the Monday and up early for work again today.

That is progress. Sure I drank. But the self loathing isn't there. That negative spiral pattern.

The goal this week is to ditch the caffine, work on some self improvement docs I have and the next big step is being more social and looking to step outside of my comfort zone without AL.

Day 2 on paper, but progress is made

[Lavande]

Good morning Nesters, happy Tuesday to all!

Glad to see you feeling positive Londoner. Keep moving forward!

Welcome back Pav!

Hi there TJ, LavB & Kensho.
Finding new AF coping skills is how we stay on plan & protect our quits

Wishing everyone a great AF day!

Lav

[Byrdlady]

Good morning, nesters!
We had a 5 minute peak of sun this morning, grateful for that. The humidity is so thick it's unbelievable.
I see MWO was down for a bit of maintenance this morning. That's a good sign!

Keep on the AF path and you will never regret it. I know that I took a lot of detours along the way and all I cost myself was valuable time! Man, I could have saved myself considerable pain and despair if I had accepted and acted on being sober sooner! If we use MWO as the tool it is, we can see that there is a straight path from point A to point B, it's that we get sidetracked and derailed along the way. I wish I had pushed thru more than I did...I hate that it came down to an ultimatum for me. If I had been smart, I'd have attacked this with surgical precision....quit drinking and STAY quit. But NOOOOOOOOOOO.....I knew better! Well, I know better now. It's the best thing I ever did. Getting distance from AL is the antidote from the addiction. Seems simple when you say it, and I know it isn't. But I did it and you can, too. It CAN BE DONE. Stick with this and you'll never be sorry!
Hope everyone has an easy Tooosday, Byrdie

[KENSHO]

Hey LavB! Sounds like like our house - technical issues left and right! So frustrating! Not to mention the not-so-technical issue of hearing - I can hear almost nothing out of my left ear. Headed in to Kaiser Suckamente this am - and I never thought I'd wish for wax, but I am today. AND, we have VOLES! They are field mice - ate through our basement screen and is living between screen and glass.

So my friends, this is an exercise of putting one foot in front of the other and appreciating what I can along the way. Like the smell of rain this morning, and the nearly-full moon over the mountains. We are all still HERE (even if I only hear half of the computer glitches that pop up on my screen!).