Weekly AA Thread - Week of Sept. 7 - 13

[JackieClaire]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of Sept. 7 - 13

Hi Anon,

I've been chasing you around all morning (so to speak).

Welcome back.

I've just sent you a private message.

Love Jackie xxx

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of Sept. 7 - 13

Anon:

This is a thread for people:
-who go to AA meetings or might go or are somewhat interested in AA.
-who think they are alcoholics and are interested in staying sober.
-who have questions about AA.

A brief history of me: I have been going to AA since last March after a nasty drinking incident. I decided it was time for me to admit my alcoholism & go to meetings where I could hear other alcoholics & how they got/stayed sober. So far I've been sober 5.5 months, & they've been the best months of my recent life even though I have a lot of responsibilities & challenges in my life. MWO remains a very important part of my life, but I needed to step up my program to where I really came out about my alcoholism & where I started to meet other alcoholics in real life. I got a sponsor & am working on the 12 steps. This has made all the difference in my life. I haven't had any cravings or urges in spite of the fact that:
-my husb is laid up w/a broken wrist & cataract surgery.
-my g-kids need a lot of my attention in the form of baby-sitting.
-my very aged parents are in need of my help.

I hope you will try to find a meeting in your area. There are schedules of meetings on the AA web-site. I was extremely scared when I first entered a meeting. I've now gotten more comfortable & am even making AA friends. I'm an older woman (64), a wife, mother & grandma. Most of the folks I see at meetings are younger & male, but I still have that common bond w/them.

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask.

Phil & Chief: I'm so very glad to see you here. Please keep coming & let us know what's happening. Don't let anything stop you from sharing here. There are no judgements on my part. I've been where you've been. It's not easy, but when the time is right, sobriety will happen.

Love, Mary

[Chief]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of Sept. 7 - 13

Day 4 here! Had a rough night sleeping but that's par for the course. I feel good today.....I feel like I've turned a corner.

I'm taking the Allone, all the supps, Campral and Ativan, reading and posting here, reading a copy of The Big Book, and just making it my sole purpose in life.

It feels wonderful waking up without a hangover!

Hope everyone has a great AF day.....I know I will.

I feel like I'm starting to be back with the LIVING!

Don

[universal]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of Sept. 7 - 13

Don! I am so happy to see you are doing so well today!

[Chief]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of Sept. 7 - 13

Come join me, Uni....:l

Don

[Doggygirl]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of Sept. 7 - 13

Hi everyone! I am very glad it is "weekend!" The Monday holiday was nice and then for the rest of the week I was feeling "a day behind" with everything. I was totally confused about which day of the week it was and what I was supposed to be doing! The positive thing was knowing that none of my confusion had anything to do with being drunk or being hungover. Lot't to catch up on here at MWO though!

It's great to read everyone's posts. Mary, you have a terrific way of summarizing your experience into a brief and understandable package. I keep hoping if I read enough of your posts some of that skill will magically rub off on me!!

Cindi I'm so happy for you that you are managing to stay sober one day at a time. I know it's hard to juggle "life" along with our "sober school" activities but it's so important that we find a way. For me, I cannot afford to lose focus on my sober school stuff because I certainly don't have time for all that wreckage of a life that drinking again would bring me.

Hello to Hippie(Phil2?) and Phil and Chief. It's good to have you all here. Hippie I haven't gone to any meetings at the local churches. I'm trying to imagine what that might feel like. (not to mention what the actual meeting might be like!) Every group is different. I can imagine that a new group/meeting just starting up might entail some egos. I like your point that no matter what other things we are working on, we need to stay mindful of the basics that keep us sober - whatever those are for each of us as individuals. The "club" where I attend meetings (a rented building that is called the Alano Club where AA and Alanon meetings are held) is hosting their annual banquet later this month. There are two speakers - one AA and one Alanon. I've not heard an Alanon speaker yet so now you have piqued my interest. I hear you on the selfish thinking. I've got that problem in spades.

Bluedog - I hope you keep reading and posting if you feel like it. Glad you are finding some value in the postings around here!

Phil - I have the faith that you will eventually get a life of sobriety pulled together as long as you never give up. Do as many Day 1's as it takes. Don't quit!

Chief - I like your spirit today. Sounds like you are pulling out all the stops and making your sobriety #1. That's what it takes - at least that's what it takes for me to stay sober.

Hello to everyone else who posts or just reads on this thread.

Today I am just grateful for the AA friends and acquaintences I have made, and for the seemingly magical calm that AA has brought into my life. "Life" still happens. It happens to me (lightly these days) and it still happens to others (heavily for some of late). But we can handle what life is sending our way without drinking over it. That is so amazing to me. I don't have to wait until life is perfect before I can get and stay sober. (I probably would have died one way or another from AL had I kept on with that plan!)

My step coach found out yesterday he has lung cancer. He is putting on a brave front but I can see in his eyes that inside he is very afraid. I'm sure his wife is very afraid too. They don't yet know how bad it is or what the treatment course will be, or life expectancy or anything like that. There are more tests scheduled this week. A beatiful thing is that I saw my sponsor the Sister today and she said "tell him and his wife that by evening there will be 90 nuns praying for him." I'm not much for religion but there is something that seems rather powerful about the thought of 90 nuns praying for a person. Can't hurt.

Todays Big Book study was on the 3rd story in the book (Women Suffer Too - p. 200). It's about a woman who is born to a wealthy family and then develops a good career so "has everything" it seems, yet AL still takes her down. She ran to Europe and then back to the States thinking "things would change" but of course they only continued to get worse. While I was certainly not born to wealth, I somehow managed to get quite a successful appearing career going, and fueled the "work hard / play hard" mentality with AL - just like her. I also refused to see how many of my problems were being caused by my drinking, but would rather geographically run thinking THAT would fix it. It never did - AL's problems followed me around like a bad disease. One of the things in her story that really, really hit home to me was her comment about going to "see for myself this group of freaks or bums..." and she later says "..I found I had come home at last, to my own kind." This is how I feel about my AA friends and acquaintences. I first went in expecting "freaks and bums" (not ME of course!! :H) but eventually started to appreciate the traits we share in common. Regardless of where we live or what kind of car we drive or job we have (or don't have) - we all share a difficulty in dealing with life on life's terms. A difficulty that alcohol seemed to "fix" for us until that "fix" stopped working - many many years ago for me. Now we are learning to face life again. (or maybe for the first time). And we're doing OK.

I haven't been feeling my usual :yougo: self the last few days, but I can cope without AL. That's what matters. I'm so glad you all are here and that we can share as we do. The sharing here at MWO is very important to my sobriety just as AA meetings are important.

Strength and hope,

DG

[cpn1004]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of Sept. 7 - 13

"see for myself this group of freaks or bums..."

This morning in my 630am meeting the fellow running it is coming up on his first year of sobriety in a couple weeks. He made the comment " I never thought I would enjoy sitting around a table drinking coffee early in the morning with a bunch of drunks". Of course we all laughed. It was a cool moment.
Love and Peace,
Phil in Texas

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of Sept. 7 - 13

I must admit that sobriety gets better each day.

Last night we were out w/old friends...our dinner club. It was a wonderful dinner w/loads of great food & plenty of lovely wine & spirits. I was fine w/drinking AF. During my drinking career, I did my alcoholic drinking alone, but often social drinking pushed me into a binge. I'm so happy to be up this AM wo/a hangover. I've become the designated driver, which is fine w/me.

Tonight is my regular BB meeting. I think I'm going to join that one. I'm a member of a step group on Thurs. & I think tonight's meeting will round it out nicely.

I hope all is well.

Mary

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of Sept. 7 - 13

DG: I never underestimate the power of prayer (i.e. the nuns praying for your step coach). Studies have been done proving that prayer really helps heal. Mary

[Doggygirl]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of Sept. 7 - 13

cpn1004;714055 wrote: ..." I never thought I would enjoy sitting around a table drinking coffee early in the morning with a bunch of drunks". Of course we all laughed. It was a cool moment.

:yougo: :H Gotta love the honesty. It's so refreshing isn't it? I feel so FREE not trying to hide my alcoholism nor defend my drinking behavior any more. WHEW. That's how I spell relief.

Mary, when I saw step coach this morning he was so grateful for all the nuns praying - he said it was the first good night sleep he's managed in awhile. So I think I'm starting to believe in the power. I don't understand it, but these days not only do I not need to control everything, I don't have to know / understand everything either. That's freeing too.

Mary, it's so nice that you can enjoy the settings that you did in the past without AL. I still don't feel highly motivated to go out to eat and things like that which were definitely drinking events for me in the past. But I don't feel like I miss that stuff either. Mr. D and I are rather "home bodyish" and I actually like that. I'm glad that you are comfortable in your "new shoes" and are even becoming designated driver. That is awesome. Mary you have sure come a long way since that awful night and I am so happy for you!

I also have 2 home groups. That covers me at 7AM 7 days a week.

Todays 12&12 meeting was on Step 11 and it was AWESOME. I don't know why this is, but once again pages in the BB that I have read many times came to life for me today. Step 11 is described on pages 85 (starting at the very bottom of the page) through page 88. These are really very specific instructions on how to pray / meditate. Some of the people in the room said that their sponsors worked with them on this section of the book very early on - way before step 11 - as many of us (me included) really don't have any idea how to medidate / pray. So if anyone is like me and wants to give this all a try, but doesn't know where to start with this prayer business, these pages give some good ideas.

I used to pray like it was a list for Santa. "Give me this and give me that." "You can prove you are really there God if you will just do X for me." That obviously doesn't work. I dont' know why, but what HAS seemed to have a positive benefit is doing what is says in the short version of step 11 - ask ONLY for knowledge of HP's will for me an the strength to carry it out. No more gimme lists.

There was a new guy at the meeting who just got out of prison after 3 years on drug related stuff. He seems to really want to live differently this time but I'm sure the world looks like a really scary place when you 1) first come out of prison where every moment of every day is directed for you and 2) you are trying to live "outside" differently than what you ever did before and 3) do it sober. Everyone welcomed him and one of the "long timers" stayed after the meeting to talk to him more. It is comforting to be a part of a fellowship where you can be welcome no matter what you have done or where you are in life. I can just be myself and know I will not face "judgement" from these people. That is very freeing too!

I feel like I've got my :yougo: back today. Now...what to do with this energy????

Strength and hope to all,

DG