September Serenity - Week 1

[papmom3]

September Serenity - Week 1

hey Lav-thanks so much for the update on John!! I was getting worried but I also wasn't able to check in from work. I sure wish we could send him get well cards but I can see where that would be a no no, even email ones. Sigh. We'll just have to bombard him with get well soon posts :H !!

RB-Are you OK? I'm so sorry you got blindsided like that. I think you're handling it pretty well so keep being strong and don't forget to use any and all tools you have at your disposal. Thinking of ya across the pond. :l

G-got the date marked on my calendar!!

[Stargazerlily]

September Serenity - Week 1

Checking in this evening....

Good to hear Paguy made it through his surgery successfully. Now the healing! I am sending positive healing thoughts.

Back to work today, it was a challenge. However, I am grateful to have a job. I saw a few ads in the paper and will apply soon. Maybe. Change is so hard for me. At least I am mostly comfortable in my job, know what to do, and have my own space. I am really tired tonight so will try to check in tomorrow. I have been sleeping really well, much longer than usual, so less time on MWO.

Have a peaceful, lovely evening.

[cyntree]

September Serenity - Week 1

I was in bed this time, and just reaching for the light, when I realized I had not posted - so here I am! Great to read everyone's posts - Red, how wonderful the wedding sounds. From yesterday - Sped, you sound wonderfully excited, lovely to hear. Tapping and Body Scans? I'll go back and search all that - you guys are encyclopedic in these healing energies - thanks for all the materials, Lav, can't wait to read/see/hear/experience them. And thanks, LBH for the tip on the audio book. Now I just need an hour offffffffff......
RB - you hang in there - love your son, hug your cat, and as Lav says, no one and nothing is worth going back. This is a hard threshold, but your solidarity with yourself is worth it all. Sending you good energy.

Good night/morning to all - cheers for humpday, Sooty!

[rebirth]

September Serenity - Week 1

Happy humpday all! Had a bad drinking dream last night and was so relieved that it was just a dream.

Today I am loving my sobriety. Lav I got my big pants back. Yeehaa!!!
I am ready for the world again! Thank you for your support and Chill and Papmon and Cyn.
xxx

[Rusty]

September Serenity - Week 1

Good Morning Everyone,

This is just a quick check-in as I am traveling this week (south suburbs of Chicago) and will be putting in long hours so I won't be posting or lurking much this week.

Lav-thanks for the update about John. Too bad the surgery was more complicated than expected. I'll send him a get well PM.

Rebirth-good job on resisting the beast!

Star-the wedding sounded absolutely palatial and I could tell in your voice that it was more wonderful than you dreamed. How sweet of the bridesmaids to include you in their little group-I imagine you helping them primp, etc. :-) Loved your description. Star, I did tell my drunken friend that I didn't want to work with him because I didn't trust him, as in trust him to be AF or curtail his drinking while working with me.

A cheery hello to John, Dill, Sped, LBH, Cyntree, Rustop, Sooty, Papmom, Mr. G, Raven! My apologies if I've left anyone out. Have a wonderful hump day!

[Guitarista]

September Serenity - Week 1

Greeting's everyone!

Get well soon Paguy.

RB! Well done, and what a great learning experience eh? Dangerous, but the fact you dealt with it in the end, is a big positive for your mind, and a step forward, in my experience. Geez, at 30 day's af, i unknowingly ate a piece of cake laced with sherry, made by a cheery little ol lady. I spat it out around the corner :H, but seriously, it did freak me out, as to whether the tiny bit of al probably ingested would set me off. No, all was fine. Another 2 times, and one earlier this year, i took a swig out of the wrong glass, (used to often do that, but this time i was sober ) and the last time, some mates bought me back some ginger beer i ordered at a party, and it was a boutique bottle, but 4.9% al! I had a swig of that, and thought, mmm, a bit strange, then checked the label. I just left it, and rinsed my mouth out and continued on with soda water and lime or something, but i was absolutely fuming, and very pissed off. It wasn't their fault, they were drunk, and didn't look twice at the label, etc.
In the end, no drama's. No hiccup's, and i didn't 'hang on' to the event, so on with life.
Our thinking is so important here RB. Unwrap what happened in your mind, and with your emotion's, and identify your danger points. The fact you went through this, and succeeded in not drinking, will not go unnoticed by your subconcious. Remember, you are getting stronger every day. The power get's stronger. Relax, enjoy, be ruthless, smart, persistant, patient, do the work, heal your body your soul, your mind, and for me, my emotional well being is crucial! I protect this ruthlessly. I remain positive, hang with positive folk, do stuff that i love, and is good for me.
Sorry, i'm waffling on a bit now, and noo, i haven't been drinking. :H Well done RB. Keep doing what you have to do, and know that sobriety just get's better and better and better. Wait till you start experiencing the magic. That seems to increase each day too. AF life is wild, and the possibilities for us are endless, infinite!

Freedom, Clarity, Pride. :goodjob:

[rustop61]

September Serenity - Week 1

Good morning everyone

Lav- thanks for the update on John. Sending him lots of positive vibes for a speedy recovery. Also thanks for letting us know about tapping. This thread is a mine of useful information.

Rusty - You have a long week ahead of you, try and make some me time for relaxation. You deserve it.

Star - Glad that you are sleeping better, things will work out on the job front I'm sure.

Rebirth - Good job on staying AF, its amazing how the cravings sneak up on you. I have been with MWO for a few years and still have not attained complete sobriety. I will do 30, 60 days and then boom cave in. However, I wont give up and have gone from being an everyday drinker to 90% AF so I will keep trying.

I read an interesting article in yesterday's paper. It seems they are trying a new approach in Holland with chronic alcoholics. They live in this facility where they allow one glass of beer, no more, per hour. They stop serving at 9.30 pm at night. The theory is that they are not going to give up but here they have a better quality of life and their health benefits with this type of drinking as opposed to binge drinking. It seems it has been tried out in Canada as well. Sad, it's a progressive disease and thanks to MWO I am glad to have slowed down and hopefully halt the process completely.

Happy hump day to Sooty, Chill, Cyn, LBH, Dill, Paguy and anyone else I missed.

Rustop

[rustop61]

September Serenity - Week 1

Hi Guitarista, welcome, we cross posted.

Rustop

[tantangra]

September Serenity - Week 1

Hi everyone,
I have been having a serene September. Spent a lovely weekend at the coast away from the cold and damp of the highlands of NSW.

Rebirth- How are you going? Are things over with the BF or is there chance of reconcilliation? Good on you for choosing th AF wine not the real deal. Yes it does taste bad doesn't it. It's like drinking cordial to me and such a waste of calories. When I was drinking I would never waste calories on low alcohol stuff, always had to have maximum buzz. Well now that I am AF I still don't want to waste calories on sugary fake drinks.
Anyway, congratulations on more than 90 days AF. Good girl. It's so hard to deny the habit of reaching for the bottle to numb the emotions. I recon the trick is to remember that it doesn't last and even enhances the negative emotions. If you can, hold on and say I'm not going to waste my 90+ days of AF on this man. I am not going to let his actions control my own.
I am coming up to 6 months AF soon and I still have thoughts like, "It would be lovely to sit down with a glass of wine right now". But I won't ruin the count, I'd have to start again and I don't think it's worth it. So I have a juice or a tonic water or a cuppa tea. Not as exciting maybe but not as disappointing either.
I too have been off the air for a week or so but it's so nice to have the people here to come back to. You're terrific.
Bye for now
Tant

[rebirth]

September Serenity - Week 1

Guistarista I really appreciated your waffle as I needed to read that. Especially from someone with your length of sobriety. I needed to hear of your close calls and how you dealt with them. It just makes me feel like my journey is normal.And I don’t feel so bad now.. A big thankyou. X. When are you gonna seranade us women with a song

Hi Tant – Six months! Fantastic. I wondered where you got to so I am glad to hear that you are doing okay! The situation with the BF is still the same but I totally agree that’s it’s not worth my sobriety.

Rustop – fairplay to you. I think if I had a slip it would take me months to get back on track again. I know of someone who quit for 6 years, then drank for another five till she became sober again. That really scares me because I cannot control my drinking. I would probably do the same. In fact I know I would.

Hi Rusty.

To help me stay on track I go to AA meetings, read up on spiritual books and tune into this site. What do you guys do? I am guessing that no one on here goes to AA? How do you stay strong? Are there other ways?

[Chillgirl]

September Serenity - Week 1

Hi Guys
We are on to September serenity week 2 but I just wanted to reply to this thread before I switch over.

Tantangra - Lovely to see you here, I hope you dont mind me asking you a very strange Q but did you ask via skype to be one of my contacts? (Im sure you dont know what im talking about but someone with a name like your did and I was just wondering). Im the same as you and dont like to waste my calorie intake on drinks so I stick to water, tonic or herbal teas.

Rebirth - My AF journey like yours in the beginning went fairly smoothly and in the back of my mind I always wondered how i would react when faced with my 1st difficult situation or when I found myself emotionally upset as in the past I would always deal with it by drinking. When this did occur, I was pleased that my 1st reaction was not to drink although the thoughts did come. I very quickly dismissed them, telling myself the only person Id hurt by drinking would be myself and by knowing that it certainly wouldnt solve the problems. There was however a lot of self pity over this, as I felt on top of the difficulties I also had the added pressure of having to stay sober but this passed very quickly.

Im not a regular AA attender but I definately go to a meeting whenever I feel particularly low or vunerable just as a double back up to my support system. Im so glad you are back on track today and as Mr G said, this should be a good learning curve for dealing with future challenges.