Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

[Pavati]

Good night, ladies. Hope everyone is taking care even through some hard times you are having. I will share a meditation from Pema Chodron that a friend sent me today -

How to Find Your Inner Strength
You build inner strength through embracing the totality of your experience, both the delightful parts and the difficult parts. Embracing the totality of your experience is one definition of having loving-kindness for yourself. Loving-kindness for yourself does not mean making sure you’re feeling good all the time—trying to set up your life so that you’re comfortable every moment. Rather, it means setting up your life so that you have time for meditation and self-reflection, for kindhearted, compassionate self-honesty. In this way you become more attuned to seeing when you’re biting the hook, when you’re getting caught in the undertow of emotions, when you’re grasping and when you’re letting go. This is the way you become a true friend to yourself just as you are, with both your laziness and your bravery. There is no step more important than this.

Love and strength to you all.

xo
Pav

[narilly]

Very nice Pav.

Time to sleep, grateful to be sober,.
Goodnight

[jane27]

Great bunch of posts. I have lots to say. Wishing everyone a good night. Xo Jane

[narilly]

Good morning everyone! So glad to be un hungover.

I hope J-Vo comes back soon. I hope she is not struggling but I sense she is. That's what this addiction will do to us and that is why we cannot ever listen to the voice that says we can control it.

We would never have come here in the first place if we could control it.

J-Vo, you are always welcome, please come back when you are ready. We love you.

Have a great day everyone else. Ava, take care of yourself. I know you have been through the ringer!

[available]

Through the wringer and spat out is how i feel Nar but i slept like a log last night. I needed it. Tye has been his caring loving self and after i spilt a glass of water on my bedside table all i wanted to do was cry last night but he came in and cleaned it up and just gave me a kiss and told me to sleep. I needed that bit of love. So up bright and early to go and see Robert before work. We will get there. Funny how this sober year has been a hard one. I seemed to go years before without anyone being ill and now BOOM, take that bitch! Oh okay! And do it sober, oh okay. I am looking after me as best as i can.

Oh that crack in the door. I know as time goes on my door is completely closed but someone still tries to turn that handle and open it, i just choose to slam it shut again. Im stubborn and if i am going to do something i will do it even it it kills me trying. For me i cant let anyone down especially myself.

well best get ready for work, feels like Thursday for some reason

hugs to all
xx

[NoSugar]

Sounds like you've raised a good boy there, Ava.
I wonder if you would have made so much time for Robert if you'd still been drinking --- it might have "interfered". Plus, it takes a lot of stamina and self-confidence to be with a person who is dying. You might not have had all that to give. Maybe you were strong enough this year to be there for someone who needs you -- a year before and you might have missed that opportunity.

Nar, J-vo seems to be trying a different path for now. I hope that if it doesn't work out as she plans that she'll renew the mission she started (!) and come back and join us. I'll always appreciate her for starting this thread and giving all of us the chance to get to know one another and to make really good steps forward in this AF lifestyle.

So, Jane, that was quite a teaser to write that you have a lot to say and then disappear!! I hope you come back and let us know your thoughts.

Back to the "leaving the door open" image... Even if that door is shut most of the time and we don't deliberately open it ourselves, I suspect it will be blown (or kicked!) open for all of us now and again - perhaps for the rest of our lives. I don't know how we could totally avoid it with all the pro-drinking messages and people around us, the fact that now and then we will be hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, and the undeniable truth that in the short run, it works to reduce whatever problem we're experiencing or to enhance a good event. To pretend we'll never be tempted would be naive and could leave us unprepared. To me, the trick is to have automatic responses firmly in place that slam that door shut again each time something opens it a bit.

[MossRose]

I just wanted to stop by and say Ava, I'm thinking of you and so proud and inspired by you. You've been through the ringer lately, and have come out the other side intact and sober.

[little beagle]

I play it out. Remember what it really was like.
Yes my life is much better without alcohol. I'm the one in control.
NS the list of side effects was eye opening. That's a lot of damage we can do.
Jane I too would like to hear what you have to say.

[narilly]

Ava, so nice that your son is being so loving. That is great. Obviously they can see how hard this has been on you.

Thanks for the info NS. Ha, those automatic responses are a life saver sometimes. I am going to our company Christmas Party on Sat. And my response to having a drink is 'No Thanks' there is tons of coffee there and I will drink that plus soda water. I drink a ton of liquids when I go out, it is almost compulsive. I think I am afraid I will drink booze if I am not quaffing down a bunch of alternative drinks.

Anyway, time to sleep.
Goodnight.

[Pavati]

'Night all.

Ava - I loved what you said in the nest. "to have gone through this sober is the greatest gift I have given myself..." (Paraphrase, although I used quotation marks).

xo
Pav

[NoSugar]

Happy Thanksgiving, Gloamers! And even if you're not in the U.S. celebrating, we can all be thankful for having found a way out. xx - NS

[narilly]

Here here! I am thankful for finding a Way Out.

I had a drinking dream last night. It scared the crap out of me. I blacked out in my dream and couldn't remember how many drinks I had. I was so upset I drank because I did not want to drink after turning 50. So scary and so glad it was a dream.

Goodnight Gloamers!

[abcowboy]

to all my American friends!

[narilly]

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving!

[Pavati]

Good morning, everyone:

Thanks to the Canadians Nar and Cowboy for helping us celebrate Thanksgiving.

I am SO grateful that I won't be drinking this Thanksgiving - and grateful that I will never feel like I did at this time last year. Grateful to have found my way out!

I hope everyone has a fabulous day, Turkey and crazy family, or not.

xo
Pav