Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

[cpn1004]

Hey where has this week's thread been?

[ready2change]

Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

Hi cpn1004 aka Phil....happy tuesday to ya! Thanks for starting this weeks thread. I guess Mary is still out of town and DG has been busy with her new endeavor with Mary Kay.

I went to a couple of meetings over the weekend. I ALWAYS walk away with something and I'm always glad I made the effort to go. I haven't really found my "home" group yet, but will continue to explore until I do.

I'm reading a new Book called "Spirtuality of Imperfection" (can't remember the authors name). I'm not too far into it because I am also reading Wayne Dyers book "Excuses be Gone!". But there is alot of referrence to AA in the Spirituality Book. I am looking forward to finding the time to do more reading and get further along in both of these books. I know without a doubt that I have been and contiue to be Spiritually bankrupt and I'm looking forward to digging my way out of this debt! Good news is I won't need any banks to help me out with this one :-)

Hope everyone is having a great week. We are getting lots of rain here in California, and we will be getting the bulk of it tomorrow and Thurs....aw well, we need it that's for sure.

R2C

[okydoky]

Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

Hi Folks. I'm on day 1
Tomorrow would have been my 1 year b-day
All I can say is tell everyone you use to drink with that you are no longer drinking. Last night a friend stopped by with a bottle of wine and I didn't want to tell her so I poured 2 gasses and that was all she wrote.
I called my sponsor and some friends in the program this morning and went to my meeting and told them. We were planning a little celebration tomorrow and now we are celebrating my ability to come right back. Everyone is sooooo loving.
I think the greatest thing I've learned from this is that I AM powerless. I must rely on my HP and always remember it is His grace that is keeping me sober. I was so wrapped up in the bithday party and it was all about me. EGO="Edging God Out" and that is exactly what I did.

[ready2change]

Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

Aww Oky...your only human. So glad you jumped right back on the wagon and not let this take you down. Use it as a lesson, we are human and not perfect. This is a journey we are on, with all it's bumps.

It's amazing to me how forgiving and loving all our fellow AA'ers are. I love your acronym..EGO....hugs to you.

R2C

[cpn1004]

Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

"cunning, baffling, and powerful"...Okydoky, you have just shown us that. Good on you for getting right back into a meeting! That is fantastic. Isn't it amazing how open, loving and accepting AA people are.
Be kind to yourself. There is a fellow in my home group that went "out" twice after each of his one year sober birthdays. But he did come back in.

Btw, I'm on the road attending meetings in Bakersfield, CA this week. Lots of fun.

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

Okey: Thank God you got right back into the program. Yes, when I hear stories like yours, I learn to always, always work against that complacency that crops up so often. Also, cunning, baffling, powerful is so, so right. You're back w/it & all the more credit to you. I know you won't let this be your undoing.

As for me: I just got back from my parents. I did stay sober the whole time. Nobody is a heavy drinker, though there was a little wine served at times. It was easy for me to stay sober, because I know I would have had to do a lot of sneaking of alcohol in order to get the number of drinks I wanted & needed. Instead I had nada & am so much better for it. I was able to speak at my father's memorial service wo/feeling any kind of hidden guilt. I am so much more myself wo/drinking. There's nothing holding the real me back.

Mary

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

Oky: I've told my family that I no longer drink. No other explanation is needed. My sponsor told me to say that I just feel better wo/it. Mary

[momof3]

Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

Welcome back Reteacher,

Your father is looking down and proud of you I'm sure.

M3

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

Thanks so much! Mary

[Chief]

Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

Welcome back and Well Done, Mary!

Day 17 here and feeling great!

Don

[okydoky]

Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

Mary, I love what you said about being the real you. That is how I've been feeling...sooo good about myself. But on the night I drank, I became someone else and the next morning I felt horrid but thank God for the loving people He has put in my life who got me right back on the right track. I went to two meetings yesterday and one so far today and will do 90/90. And today instead of remorse I feel gratitude because I have a 24 hour coin that will help me remember that is all we have with God's help...one day at a time.

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

Okey: I'm always surprised at how incredibly welcoming back the AAers are...no judgement, no recrimination, just pure welcome. I'm so glad you're not feeling bad, because that doesn't help. You're doing all the right things. Meetings, meetings, meetings. Also, coming here & processing what you thinking & feeling probably helps too.

Chief: I'm glad you're on a roll. The physical, emotional, & spiritual relief, especially in the beginning, is so wonderful. Keep it up. I've stopped counting the days, but I do love to go up & get my monthly chips. Of course, the biggest payoff is the sobriety. I feel so grateful to be able to say that I got through the very, very difficult week of my father's death & service wo/AL. It's rewarding.


Mary

[momof3]

Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

Good Morning All,

OkyDoky, I remember that we traded PMs over a year ago. I am so very happy to hear that you almost made it to 1 year. And, you have gotten back in the saddle with no fuss...looking forward instead of backward. I did a very similar thing when I quit two years ago. I had some solid sobriety behind me but then went on a bender for 1 night. I was completely out of control with my drinking. It scared the shit out of me and I have not had a drink since. I finally woke up to the fact that I was indeed completely powerless over alcohol.

Hello to Reteacher and Chief too.

Everyone pray for Cowgal please in hopes that she pulls through.

M3

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

Because I was away for a week, I'm not sure what happened to cowgal, but I'll definitely pray anyway.

Mom3: I guess it's true what the AAers say about relapse. "You pick up right where you left off."

Mary

[Doggygirl]

Weekly AA Thread - Jan. 17 to Jan. 23

Hello everyone! Welcome back Mary. I'm sure your week in Florida was not easy. Thank you for sharing with us that is was much better to get through it sober and with a clean conscience than it would have been with drinking. I'm like you. One or two would never be enough for me. I would have been sneaking and planning and thinking only of myself and getting more fixes. Drinking leaves me emotionally unavailable for anyone / anything else but AL, and spiritually bankrupt as well. I hope you are doing OK as can be hoped for under the circumstances, and I hope your Mother is doing OK as well.

Phil, thank you for starting us off this week! I hope you will tell us how the meetings are in CA.

Okey, I'm sorry to read of your decision to drink. I'm so happy for you though, that you got RIGHT back on the wagon. It is also reassuring to hear that your AA friends supported you and welcomed you right back without judgement. Amazing how the AA culture is bigger than the individuals in AA, and that all over the world a consistent approach is taken in an effort to help us all. (a power greater than me for sure!) It seems that anniversary times can be particulary tempting. I thank you for sharing your experience as that is a good reminder for me and I'm sure for many to constantly be on guard for the cunning, baffling and powerful one. One day at a time.

Chief, congrats on 17 days - or maybe a couple more by now! (I haven't posted in a few days!) You sound very strong in your resolve and that is wonderful. I know what that struggle feels like after relapse - how hard it can be to climb back on the wagon. I need to always remember that. You helped me back then, and you help me today. Thank you!

M3 - it is good to see you as always. And thank you for the reminder of your experience. That mirrors my own. It took no time at all for the drinking to be all consuming and excessive - right where I left off.

I am sorry to read that Cowgal is having a difficult time this week. Will go in search of that after this post.

I am so grateful for AA and how it is helping me become a less selfish human being. My first response is most often to think selfishly. But the AA program helps me catch myself at least some of the time, and get on a better track. I am getting better at taking things in stride that might mean I make last minute changes to my plans / schedule for the day. That used to be a huge source of resentment for me. Slowly but surely my motives are getting better.

I attended a "business after hours" function last night. This one was well attended by the membership group as it took place in a bar. Funny how attendance is always better in the bars than when a retail shop hosts and caters. Anyway....a couple of milestones with that. I was COMPLETELY comfortable in my sobriety. I don't mean I take it for granted - I mean for last night, any obsession with AL was thankfully lifted from me. I did not yearn at all for the AL drinks that others can safely have, but that I cannot safely have. There were two people at the event I know from AA. I did not feel uncomfortable about that either. I am also getting quite comfortable saying "I don't drink" when/if offered. That's really all that needs to be said. And if anyone were to press, I would not hesitate to say "it doesn't agree with me."

I know that I must stay active in my daily effort to stay sober. Meetings, readings, prayers, talking to my sponsor, talking to others in the program. That is what keeps my sobriety strong. And even then, I must remain humble in the face of such a cunning, baffling and powerful foe.

I am really happy as a sober person. Every bit of past and current daily effort to get here has been worth it.

Yesterday and new girl in AA was talking to me about how her drinking friends all think AA is for losers. I told her that I used to think that too. But now I realize that the tables are filled with people who IMO, have some of the finest values going. I am blessed to have so many of these people as friends and allies in my life.

And you all here are such a big part of that. I treasure your friendship and sharing along this journey.

DG