I Needed This Meeting
Oh Boy! I needed this meeting! That’s what I thought as we read the first half of the 12th step at the 12 & 12 meeting. These past few weeks have filled with hard news— not just of the
Celebrating Forty-One Years . . .
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
Why [I think]I Drank
When I think back about why I think I drank, details fuzz over. Mainly I started to drink because that was what everybody was doing. My friends and I were sneaking around, getting “tight,’” and partying. It was the early
Gifts
One of the gifts that keeps on giving in this pandemic is The Grapevine. Its authors in the current and past issues make me feel like I am at a friendly speakers meeting. I can take what I need, and
Asking Better Questions
In my white-knuckling phase, I kept asking, Am I an alcoholic? I couldn’t be; I just wasn’t that bad — not like other problem drinkers I knew! Reading in Step by Step: Real AAs, Real Recovery, I gleaned a bit
Holy Ground
Years ago, a contemporary hymn described a sensation I surely had in a recent meeting — that of standing on holy ground — being aware of power greater than I am was making Himself available to hurting souls. I felt
The Best and Scariest Thing About a Mirror
Look in the mirror, an AA used to say, if you want to know what your problems are. The best thing about a mirror is seeing yourself as you are, and that can be the scariest thing, too! Step Six
First In-Person Meeting
The Last In-Person Meeting I attended my first in-person meeting since February 21, 2020. Someone there made a serendipitous observation, given all that soon happened. I can’t think my way through trouble; I have to live through trouble and learn to
Celebrating
Celebrating A friend told me of a recorded meeting, celebrating Liz Bailey’s 62nd anniversary. SIXTY-TWO YEARS?! Yep — July 11 was Liz Bailey’s 62nd anniversary — and God willing in August she will be 93 years young! Like all good