AA thread September 2013

[bettygirl]

peace

[retteacher]

AA thread September 2013

BG: Many thanks for starting us off this month. I am so grateful to be sober tonight. I went to my usual Sun. night meeting. It's so comforting to meet up w/friends & mingle before & after the meeting. There is no other organization quite as welcoming as AA. My husband & I are in another Italian cultural group. It's a pretty nice group, but it took literally years for us to feel like we've broken into that group. People had their cliques & stayed to themselves. I don't find that in AA. Most of us make a concerted effort to welcome a newcomer going so far as inviting them out for coffee after the meeting in order to get to know them better. That's the power of AA. To me that's HP working through people. Again thanks for getting us started this month. Mary

[bettygirl]

AA thread September 2013

good stuff, mary!

I went to a good sunday night 90 minute meeting that I really like (its hard to sit for 90 minutes on a fractured hip!). the topic was picked by an old timer who is 43 years sober. he picked maintaining contact with people who have many years sober , but might be isolated in old age, or just unable to get to meetings...he talked about wanting to reach out to them and bring them back into the fold...it was an interesting topic that ive never thought about before. I know there are meetings for "shut ins" in our area...we take the meetings to them, and that's cool, but I guess he meant getting people to actual meetings and more involved.

I really needed a meeting yesterday, as I didn't get to the pool to swim and I started to get a bit stir crazy and irritable and discontent! i'm glad I can easily recognize when that happens and nip it in the bud now instead of letting it fester and possibly drive me to have drinking thoughts. there were none of those, but I definitely had behaviors that I don't like and recognize from past experiences...thanks for teaching me what to look out for, my fellow AA ers!

peace

[Cinders]

AA thread September 2013

Hello AAers,

I don't drop in here as often as I should. I try to get to three meetings a week. It is about the best my husband will tolerate.

This week, my plan is to get with my Sponsor and do Step Three. I am very excited. This is the first time in many years of going to AA off and on that I feel I am truly ready for Step Three. At the same time, I know I will struggle with it the rest of my life.

I am glad you are all here, it is a comfort to know I can pop in here and read.

A speaker at our Birthday meeting last week said something that really resonated. He said he had a member at his first home group that always responded that gratitude is an action word and would pass when the subject of gratitude came up.

I try very hard to give back as I can. Being early in my sobriety means there is much I cannot do but I hope the little things I can do help. I bake the treats for the birthday meetings, I make coffee and clean up from the meetings. I offer rides for those who have a difficult time making it to the meetings.

I have found that giving back makes me feel better not only because it is human nature for us to feel good about doing things for others but because it reminds us to get out of self.

My disease is a very selfish disease. Getting into myself and my worries and sorrows is a bad state of mind.

I am so grateful for AA and the people in my home group. I hope I can give back to them as they give so much to me.

Have a blessed day, friends.

Cindi

[retteacher]

AA thread September 2013

Cindi: Thank you for your very thoughtful post. I took step 3 twice: once before I relapsed & once after. It was an emotional experience both times. Sometimes I forget that I'm not in charge, but I can always renew my step by saying the third step prayer which I've managed (even w/my defective, senior citizen memory) to memorize. Take care of yourself. We've only got one life...I want to live mine sober. Mary

[retteacher]

AA thread September 2013

Excellent speaker last night. I've heard him before, but he really gave an inspirational explanation of the steps in his life. He also told of his first sponsor who relapsed after 10 years of sobriety. He went into rehab but found the nurses too strict. Not long after walking out of that rehab, he was found dead in his apartment. This is a disease that kills, & it doesn't matter how long we haven't had a drink. We can all relapse if we take our sobriety for granted.

[bettygirl]

AA thread September 2013

indeed, mary... my sponsor's husband lost his son to alcoholism this weekend...he was not even 40 yet...crazy stuff...serious stuff. I want to die a sober person, today I will make that reality.

i'm going to the new women's group today...I like it a lot last week. it's nice to hear women's wisdom.


peace!

[Cinders]

AA thread September 2013

Sadly, 40% of us die from our disease. In my mind, that number is probably low considering how many people do not share honestly with their health care providers that they have a drinking problem.

Betty, My very favorite AA meeting is at noon on Fridays. It is an all women's meeting.

There is some long term sobriety in that meeting as well as some newcomers and those with some sobriety. It is a good mix.

I talked to one of the AA members from my home group last night and asked to be allowed to go to the treatment centers in town to talk. When I was in rehab there, the night that AAers came and in took questions and answers was very enlightening. I would like to give back that way.

Cindi

[retteacher]

AA thread September 2013

Cindi: I know you will be wonderful! You will definitely reach someone. Mary

[Determinator]

AA thread September 2013

greetings fellow AA'ers!

Cindi, what a wonderful thing to do. I've thought the very same thing and I think I'll pursue that myself. thanks for the inspiration.

I managed to make a meeting every day this week. wow!

I brought in a friend of mine who's been struggling and i think he's going to stick around. yay!
then something totally unexpected happened. one of the senior members suggested I be his sponsor. jeepers, I don't have 5 months yet! he said that doesn't matter and that he has a sponsors workbook for me. a bit nervous here.....

[bettygirl]

AA thread September 2013

cindi, that is a great idea. I know a guy here that goes to prisons to do meetings, and a woman who works with women/girls who are "in the system" for drug or alcohol violations, and are about to lose their kids if they don't sober up. she has the patience of a saint and works hard for those girls, within reason!
the womane meeting got a name, "women with solutions"...not real catchy, but oh well!

deter, my sponsor suggested that it's best to wait til you've finished the steps to be a sponsor yourself, but if you are into it, go for it! you must have what he wants

I was asked by my cousin, who is a "life coach", if I could long distance sponsor one of her clients, who doesn't want to go to aa, and who still wants to smoke pot...I told her no, I won't sponsor her sinply because that isn't how it works, but I will talk to her and point her in the right direction...I don't really know what she thinks I can do. I guess it's just that my cousin doesn't know the program, and figured I was the one person she knows in recovery, so she asked me. to be honest, i'm slightly annoyed by it, and might even have a resentment! Ill talk to my sponsor more about it and nip it in the bud, because that is one thing I don't like, is to hold onto resentment!

I met with my sponsor yesterday, and she is dealing with some health issues that are pretty serious, and she needs to lean on us for a while. I am so glad I can be there for her. although she cant physically lean on me or my hip might collapse!!!

life has been a bit of a struggle with the hip issue, but I am so thankful that I can get out to a meeting or go swimming, or talk to someone about it...it helps so much. if this had been a year ago, I would have spiraled into a very dark and dangerous place that I might never have gotten back out of. I am soooo grateful to be sober and functional today.

peace!

eta: 11 months! a year is in sight!

[Determinator]

AA thread September 2013

Betty, so proud of you for being strong through physical pain/discomfort. always a big trigger for me.

still thinking/learning about the sponsorship thing. no sudden moves here. gotta do what's right for my recovery plan as #1. I HAVE to be selfish about my recovery or I get in trouble.

happy weekend everyone! xxxx

[retteacher]

AA thread September 2013

Deter: Around here, we have temporary sponsors...people who help get someone started, meet at/bring to meetings, talk to, &/or help in other ways. It's not as formal as going through the steps w/someone. It's more of a helping hand. I hope you realize what a big accomplishment you did of bringing your friend to a meeting. You might have saved his life. Great job!

BG: I too would not have long-distance sponsored someone who is out there smoking pot. One of my first friends in program is now smoking pot & not going to meetings. I haven't seen her at a meeting in a long, long time. I know of many people who use the "marijuana maintenance program." I know that if I started smoking pot, I would be doing it compulsively & eventually would be led back to alcohol. Your "life coach" cousin doesn't know the AA program. It's about sobriety in all its various forms. I'm sure if you clear that up w/her, she'll understand. Some of the people I know in AA have actually changed their sobriety dates to correspond w/their stopping their pot use.

I personally like the feeling of clarity I get from not having any mood-altering substances in my system. My life's work is to go through life's ups & downs sober.

Mary

[retteacher]

AA thread September 2013

Just got back from my first shot-gun meeting. It was actually supposed to be a speaker meeting, but there was some snafu w/the speaker. Instead, we went from one person to another & told our stories in 3 minutes (give/take). It was fun & a wonderful way of getting to know everyone. There were folks there w/44+ years & some w/15 days of sobriety. There was a lot of laughter which is always healing.

The newbies were the ones who touched me the most. Those first few weeks are so difficult. Alcohol is advertised everywhere...especially now that football season has just begun. There was a lot of angst about not taking that first drink.

I feel very grateful to be sober today.

[bettygirl]

AA thread September 2013

yeah, pot...I smoked it every day for YEARS...until my kid was about 2 and I decided it would be better to drink since it was legal...

glad to be TOTALLY SOBER today.

peace