Celebrating
Celebrating forty-one years with friends at a meeting today — after a two -year hiatus — was just about super.
What to say about living forty-one years sober?
A close relative gave me a segue.
When I told her I would chairing a meeting celebrating my 41st anniversary sober, her reaction made me laugh.
“That’s incredible,” she exclaimed!
Yeah — I thought —that’s what some of my former drinking buddies might have said too.
When I finally screwed up the courage to tell friends I joined AA, one friend from way back when said, “Thank God, I was sure you were in deep trouble with your drinking!”
Wait, what?
I wasn’t that bad . . .
But, back when we were out drinking, I was no social drinker . . .
Since those crazy party days I had spent nine years white-knuckling: drinking less, getting into to more emotional troubles, and experiencing my first black-out.
I was trying to clean up my act.
That’s basically how I thought I could maybe keep drinking without getting myself into the kinds of situations that made my earlier drinking pals worry about me.
God, am I ever glad for the program! And for the steps, especially Step 6 & Step 7 . . .
Repeating myself: For all the people who showed up at the AlAnon meetings, and at all the 90 in 90 meetings; who put the Big Book together — who run headquarters and publish the Grapevine; who do all work to make meetings happen . . . thank you.
Lord God I am grateful for YOU !
I received a pretty spiffy 41st chip — I’ve been told to keep it between my teeth and when it melts I can have a drink.
I’ve put a lot of links in this piece to other stuff I have written —I hope some help. If you are in a hurting place, the best one, if you wonder how the program works, is Chapter 5: How it Works.
Thanks for reading — let me know how goes it on your side of the street.
Love in Christ,
Sober and Grateful
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