AA Thread - March 2014

[retteacher]

Everyone: We got home safely from TX ahead of the storm. Glad to be home even though there are piles of snow here. The AA meetings really were awesome, & it was wonderful being in the warmth & seeing our family. HP was at work the whole time we were there & on the way home as well. Mary

[retteacher]

AA Thread - March 2014

Hi Everyone: I wanted to bump this up in hopes to get some response. I've been getting to meetings while home, but it's been an effort. I'm tired & have a lot to do. However, I know that I cannot let my meetings go. Tonight 2 good speakers & the room was packed. M

[bettygirl]

AA Thread - March 2014

hi and welcome back mary! hello everyone else...

I went to my first meeting in weeks today...it was good. a lot of people talking about their health problems from drinking. we were reading pg 132 in the family afterwards section...one guy had had bleeding ulcers, esophageal problems, pancreatitis, and to top it off, he burned out his pancreas and became type 2 diabetic. he kept saying "I can't believe I did this to myself, I never thought I'd live this long". that hit home for me...although I am a "real alcoholic", I wasn't end stage, yet, and the fear of that is what really made me humble myself, suck it up, and ask for help. I didn't and don't want to be a sick old woman who has to take medication just to get out of bed! I hope I stopped before I did too much damage, but I'm sure there will be consequences...BUT, that's the future, nothing I can do about it now, except NOT DRINK ONE DRINK, and work for my sobriety everyday.

tomorrow I am supposed to go for a postponed because of rain, hike with my sponsor, but it's raining like crazy again this week! I live in the high desert of Washington state, and we don't tend to get much rain, so it's funny that it keeps interrupting our plans...oh well! what can ya do! maybe we'll go for a coffee instead.


take care all!

[Stargazerlily]

AA Thread - March 2014

Good morning,

Those AA meetings sound great Mary, so wonderful you can go anywhere and find some to attend.

Betty, health problems related to drinking are scary. I notice that the older you get, the hangovers get so horrible intense and long, it has to be damage to some organs. Not worth it. I believe that we can heal though through nutrition and exercise. Obviously not if organs are damaged.

Love this thread, just wanted to say Hello.

[Stargazerlily]

AA Thread - March 2014

Good morning,

Those AA meetings sound great Mary, so wonderful you can go anywhere and find some to attend.

Betty, health problems related to drinking are scary. I notice that the older you get, the hangovers get so horrible intense and long, it has to be damage to some organs. Not worth it. I believe that we can heal though through nutrition and exercise. Obviously not if organs are damaged.

Love this thread, just wanted to say Hello.

[retteacher]

AA Thread - March 2014

Hi Friends: Yes, I too know many people who have serious problems due to drinking (& smoking combo). I started drinking late in life, but I know that I would not be in the shape I'm in today if I had kept on. The hangovers were definitely getting worse & worse. You can't put poison (alcohol) into an aging body (in my case late 60's) & not get any backlash. So, I'm so glad to be clean & sober today. My body isn't perfect, but it's only the aging process...not abuse.

M

[bettygirl]

AA Thread - March 2014

hi stargazer! good to hear from you
hi mary!

yes, I hope that the damage I did is reversible. I am in the best shape of my life and my health has improved greatly in the 17 months since I quit drinking, but I worked at it. I exercise and eat very healthfully. I quit smoking about 17 years ago, thank goodness! all my check-ups are good, my blood pressure is nowhere near high anymore, and I can't even begin to say how much better I feel mentally! my goodness, why didn't I do this sooner! :H if only it was that easy!

anyway, it could all be gone tomorrow if I take that first drink, so I will protect myself from myself by doing the things that are keeping me sober! thanks for being a part of that list of positive stuff I do to maintain my precious sobriety! :thanks:


have a great day all!

peace

[retteacher]

AA Thread - March 2014

Everyone: Yesterday I stopped into a grocery store that stocks wine & beer. I looked at it all & felt nothing. I called to mind the many times I drank (secretly) & had a hangover which I had to hide. For me, the pluses of not drinking far, far outweigh the minuses. Once in a while, when I see someone sip from a dewy glass of white wine (my fav) or nurse a nice scotch or Irish whiskey, my mind perks up. But, I KNOW that one glass of either would NEVER be enough. I would drink, drink, drink until I was wrecked.

My biggest challenge today is living an emotionally sober lifestyle. I have to constantly be on guard for negative emotions (fear, anger, resentment) & work through them. I had something come up this week w/my husband. I gave myself a good night's sleep, & the next morning we had a calm discussion. I'm not suggesting that I stuff my emotions. I can feel them, but I have to do something if they linger: talk it through, let it go, whatever.

Anyhow, my thoughts for today.

Mary

PS: We're going to an old-fashioned coffee house tonight w/another AA couple our age. We'll be listening to folk music & drinking coffee (they don't serve liquor). Think: Bob Dylan, Joan Baez songs. It should be fun.

[Solitaire]

AA Thread - March 2014

I heard recently:
The good thing about sobriety is, the feelings come back....
The bad thing about sobriety is, the feelings come back....

I relate

xxx

[retteacher]

AA Thread - March 2014

Me too.

[bettygirl]

AA Thread - March 2014

the good thing is, we have defenses against those feelings...a different solution now


I am on my way to a speaker meeting (my first one in all my time in AA!), and it is my sponsor speaking! my husband is going too, and it's his first time meeting her, her husband, and going to a meeting. should be interesting!:H


hope everyone has a great weekend...we get to spring forward into later sunlight!!!


peace!

[Stargazerlily]

AA Thread - March 2014

Feelings. No matter if we drink or not, we are going to have feelings, and have to deal with them. Part of being human is to have feelings all over the board. That is what makes us human. Obvious, huh? Well, not for me. I thought I should not have unpleasant feelings, and what better to do than numb them, get rid of them? What a great way to have fun? Only it was a false fun. Then, the resulting bad feelings, physical stuff. Instead, realizing we have hard times of the day, sometimes difficult feelings, and to get through them. Support from others is the most important, and that is where meetings are so wonderful.

[retteacher]

AA Thread - March 2014

star: You put, precisely in words, the reason I drank. It was to avoid my feelings. Now, in my old age & sober at last), I'm learning to deal w/my feelings.

BG: I've noticed that some areas have more speaker meetings than others. Our area has lots. When we were in TX, there were hardly any. I love them. It could be a biker dude up there at the podium, & I still have something to identify with. My husband has gone to many speaker meetings w/me & really enjoys them & learns something too...even though he is not an alcoholic.

The coffee house concert was terrific. It was an old-fashioned coffee house held in a Universalist/Unitarian church basement. The songs were old-fashioned protest songs ala Pete Seeger. It brought back my youth!

M

[retteacher]

AA Thread - March 2014

It's been wonderful getting back to my home meetings. I didn't realize how much I missed everyone. M

[Solitaire]

AA Thread - March 2014

Thursday morning here...
I'm dealing with huge challenges with my 17yo son: refusing to go to school, aggressive, etc.
He was on meds, but decided to stop taking it...
The story doesn't matter much.
I am seeing my sponsor this afternoon.
Out of the blue last night, the thought came to me that I should make my amends with him.
What happens after that, is not in my hands.
Just for today, I will try to do the next right thing
Sol xxx