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    Saturday, Oct 7th

    Good morning Absville!!! (You couldn't hear that but I said it just like Robin Williams in Good Morning VietNam! God bless him, a fellow recovering addict/alcoholic and a wonderfully intelligent man.)

    We've gone through a tumultuous week here in Absville, so I wondered for a while how to start today's thread. I definitely wanted it to be upbeat. I think we all need to focus on something positive just to get some good vibes going strong. So in honor of our Canadian friends, I've chosen "Thanksgiving" as the topic of the day.

    We have all suffered the ravages of alcohol abuse in our lives and the feelings that come along with it -- otherwise we probably would not be here. A big part of recovery is learning to find joy in living again. It's seeing light instead of darkness. It is seeing life in color instead of black & white. It is seeing hope instead of despair. It's too easy to focus on what we don't have and get depressed. But no matter how we might feel, we always feel better if we concentrate on what it is that we are thankful for. So what is it today that you are thankful for?

    • I am thankful that I was referred to a doctor who knew about this program. Otherwise I might still be out there spinning my wheels, "working" programs that don't work for me.
    • I am thankful that I didn't drink myself to death before I "got it"
    • I am thankful that there is a community of loving people here who understand and support me on this journey
    • I am thankful that we can have discussions here about difficult topics, that we can agree and disagree, and remain civil and stay friends
    • I am thankful that I have access to the health care that I needI am thankful for the love and support of my family and friendsI am thankful for my life, my health, and my capacity to learn and growI am thankful for every day soberI am thankful that I have a good job, a roof over my head, and no worries about where my next meal is coming fromI am thankful for ice cream and peanut butter!!!

    The truth is that I have so much to be thankful for that I have no room for any complaints AT ALL. You see, I am so richly blessed that I can't even count all my blessings. When I drink, I tend to forget that because I'm either too drunk or too hung over to realize it. Now that I'm sober, I'm beginning to see things in color again. I'm beginning to feel some real joy -- not the fake joy that comes in a bottle and turns into despair a little while later, but the real thing. I'm beginning to see the light.

    So I ask again, what are you thankful for, this (Canadian) Thanksgiving?
    "Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance." -- Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)

    #2
    Saturday, Oct 7th

    I am thankful that you Mike....are the mayor!
    doin some work stuff. maybe back later. gabby
    Gabby :flower:

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      #3
      Saturday, Oct 7th

      Comment


        #4
        Saturday, Oct 7th

        Good morning Absville,

        Mike! I'm thankful that thankfulness is popular again!
        I'm thankful that:
        I woke up this morning without felling yuck!
        The moon was beautiful and full last night!
        The sun came up bright and clear this morning.
        The temp is cooler in Bama!
        There is work to do !
        I have new raised beds!
        I have friends here that I love..where ARE you all?
        (Oh It's still early)He he he he

        I have to get started...some fall seeds to plant!
        It's an awsome thing to be able to plant a seed and have a meal from what you have planted! From a Master Gardener; I would like to encourage everyone to plant something.......water it......watch it grow.......then enjoy eating some "slow" food! It's an indescribable thing!

        Nancy & Belle (she even likes veggies)!
        "Be still and know that I am God"

        Psalm 46:10

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          #5
          Saturday, Oct 7th

          Nancy that is great --

          I used to have a black lab when I was a boy in Mississippi and he LOVED okra, right off the stalk. Strange, but funny.

          Mike
          "Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance." -- Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)

          Comment


            #6
            Saturday, Oct 7th

            Thankful that i made it yesterday without drinking. Never thought that would happen only three days into topa.Also that my mother wasnt here this morning when i talked to her and she told me i sounded like i had been drinking(how is this possible topa dopa maybe).Any who not a big step but a step just the same. Hope today goes as well.Thanks mom for the kick in the head.Im jsut so mad at her right now i could spit nails!

            :durn: :durn: :durn:

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              #7
              Saturday, Oct 7th

              good morning !
              I'm thankful for the sober serenity I feel this Sat morn. Mike, you brought that word back into my vocabulary and I love it. It is not an emotion one feels when drinking but for now I feel serene. I am happy for health and family of course. I am also thankful for the opportunity to feel better,grow emotionally and spiritually because I am here.
              Must think more ... we all really have so much to be thankful for.
              janet

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                #8
                Saturday, Oct 7th

                Hi all -

                Just checking in. A million and one things going on now through Thursday and I am completely overwhelmed but somehow hope it will all come together.:egad:

                I'm thankful/grateful for a lot of things. But right now, I have to stop procrastinating and get my butt in gear....

                Its madness I tell you, madness.

                Kate

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                  #9
                  Saturday, Oct 7th

                  Hey Mayor Mike ! Good subject and I just love thanksgiving ( might have to have turkey and stuffing tonight).
                  and BTW..Day 8 today - af last night

                  I'm thankful that the headache I had last night was from work and not alcohol
                  I'm thankful that during this stressful work time I'm spending my 'off time' here instead of with a bottle of wine
                  I'm thankful that I have good friends and that eventhough my family can irritate me to no end - I still have them around.
                  I'm thankful for this beautiful weather we are having ( nancy and I are getting that same wonderful fall feeing here )
                  I'm forever thankful for all of you - I learn new things every day....steal it and make it my own

                  ((and thankful that when I booked my flight back to new orleans there were only first class seats available on the flight down!!--bigger exp report - oh well)) 'course first class used to mean free drinks - now it means bigger seats and I get on first!!

                  HAPPY SAT. Hope you are all having a great weekend so far.
                  I'm at work now - so I should get back to it .

                  :l

                  Lisa

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                    #10
                    Saturday, Oct 7th

                    :thanks: Great topic!

                    I have so much to be thankful for...so I started to write out my list and then it hit me...what I'm really most thankful for today is the very fact that I can simply FEEL thankful again!

                    Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

                    Oh yeah, that really DOES feel good!
                    :h
                    susan
                    "I'm a sucker for a good resurrection story." Anne Lamott

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                      #11
                      Saturday, Oct 7th

                      Ok im done being a brat just needed to vent. Im thankful for you all.
                      Number one going to Bev who told me about this site. Thanks girlie i love you!:thanks:

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                        #12
                        Saturday, Oct 7th

                        Arrrrggghh!!

                        About an hour ago I was chanting, "I will not drink, I will not drink!!!" , because I wanted to do a half-gainer into a bottle of wine.

                        My New Orleans friend called and has gotten stuck in Richmond and will not make it up to see me tonight. I am PROFOUNDLY
                        disappointed. I learned of it in the grocery store and was about to start bawling right there, I was so disappointed. I said I would call him back when I got out to the car and the chickenshit didn't answer his phone!!!:durn: I wasn't going to yell at him or anything, but I did want a chance to at least say how terrible I felt!! I imagine that he could hardly have stood it, though.

                        At any rate, I now how 2 lbs of New Orleans-style boiled shrimp, 2 lbs of hummous, lots of crusty bread and crackers, 3lbs of Jarlsberg cheese and various fruit in my fridge. Urrrgh!

                        How ironic that I was thinking of all these strategies of how not to drink with someone who would be drinking and I ended up wanting to drink because that person who would be drinking isn't coming!:H
                        Honestly!!

                        Anyway, my first thought was to drink, but my second was to come on here, and on the way home, I called my sister, who was just terrific and talked me out of my treetop. Now I'm here and I can pour out my frustration and disappointment to all of you. Urrrggh!!


                        So, it's out.....


                        Things to be thankful for......


                        1. I hadn't yet bought the scotch, so I won't have to pour it down the drain and I saved some money.

                        2. I will be eating a lot of shrimp for the next several days--shrimp scampi, shrimp salad, shrimp caesar salad, shrimp......

                        3. I am getting through the temptation to drink over a big disappointment

                        4. I did get a lot of cleaning done yesterday, and I will continue to do so today, despite my disappointment.
                        5. I'm thankful that my mom came through some recent medical treatments well
                        6. I'm thankful that my practice is building, despite my drinking lapses
                        7. I'm thankful that even though I always seem to be broke, money seems to come through when I need it!
                        8. Last, but not least, I'm thankful that things are settled here and Absville and Absland are once again the peaceful and supportive places I love and need for recovery.

                        Thanks to all! Nice start, Mike!

                        Hugs,

                        Kathy:l


                        AF as of August 5th, 2012

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                          #13
                          Saturday, Oct 7th

                          Hey Kathy - You did great thru that whole roller coaster ride! I think if we can make it thru the first 10 -15 min when the only logical answer seems to be to drink, then we are about 98% home free. Glad you had your sister to talk to and some distractions.
                          I had a few triggers happening for me today too.
                          I had to come in to work today - didn't really want to it is so nice out - and in the past I would have mentally
                          said I would be 'rewarding myself later' for working on the weekend. I had to switch off that tape in my head telling me that - had to switch it off a couple of times - and think of a different and better reward.

                          Good for you though - you are going to be so proud of yourself Sun morning.
                          (I'm saying that to myself too )

                          Love
                          Lisa

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                            #14
                            Saturday, Oct 7th

                            Thanks Lisa! I feel better already, having passed by the liquor store on the way home! Now it's time to get to work, though!!

                            Hugs,

                            Kathy
                            AF as of August 5th, 2012

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                              #15
                              Saturday, Oct 7th

                              Good for you Kathy!!!!I have found that one of the things that throws me into a spin is a last minute change of plans. I fully understand how you were planning a strategy for your dinner and now that it's not going to happen you feel like drinking. That would be my first thought too. BUT we are going to stay stong and .....feel so much better in the morning.
                              I have a cocktail party to go to and it won't be easy but I am bound and determined to NOT DRINK. Tomorrow I have a wedding which will also be a drinking event. I, for now , am only going to think about tonight
                              I am so glad to see Liz and Lou back. We missed you both. I hope you are feeling better Liz! And Lou, I hope your computer is feeling better.

                              I am thankful that I have you all to be accountable to
                              Janet

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