The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
What happened to the days I grew up in? No one in my family got divorced. Everyone had kids. When something broke, you could count on your family to come over and pitch a hand to fix it. On friday nights, you friends were your cousins and your to do for the weekend was with your family. What happened to the days when you saved your money to buy something instead of using credit cards? What happened to the Sunday lunches at Grandma's house? We didn't grow up around addictions. And look at us now, either addicts or married to addicts. Seems like I keep getting the short end of the stick.
i didn't grow up with addictions either, but my family was extremely codependent. i think that since no one ever drank in my family, i didn't know what normal alcohol use looked like. add to that my own codependency issues and you get a serial alcoholic's wife.
Sure, we have a horrible "thing" that over-shadows all of our lives. But, one of my favourite human beings ever, Michael J Fox, once said, "We all have our bag of nails to carry!". My god, he should know.
The world IS a beautiful place, if we just "choose" to see it that way...
My kids get the best health care and education money can buy, for free. They have better prospects than I ever had. I can raise them how I want, without family or tradition interfering. I feel proud of how they have turned out, because it's all down to me and my wife. I live in a country, where I can get in my car and go almost anywhere I want. My career is only limited by my ambitions. My human rights are in-shrined in the law of the land I live. I am protected by law, from persecution, prejudice or discrimination. And so much more...
I would say that 99% of the world isn't as lucky as I am.
I grew up and was a young adult in those "good ole days".
I miss those days so much and regret that my younges child will not know those days.
My family would gather on Friday nights during football season and go to the local high school games, travel when the team traveled, so much fun. We would play cards, watch special TV movies, just sit and talk and laugh and laugh a lot. In the summer we would sit out side, watch the kids play.
My parents are gone now, both to cancer, my sister is not in very good health, and my oldest son has taken the family for the roller coaster ride called "addiction".
But as sad as it is now I am so thankful for the memories I have, and I am thankful for many blessing I have today also.
I wish times were simpler for our younger generation.
Great topic! That what we did as kids. I hung on to it when I married and had kids. My AHsober wasn't that into it because he didn't see it growing up. I fought for it for my kids. We must have dinner together on Sunday. We must turn the @#$% TV off and play games. We must take a family vacation. We must go outside and look at the sunset. I am so glad that I insisted on those things. I think we were all much better for it.
Yep... Wish I knew the answer to that as well... Now adays in my opinion marriage isn't a union of familys, and everyone is running around crazy taking their kids to 5 differant sports, and never making time for family time, I too miss those days when I was Very Young, and we would go to Sunday Brunch at 1 grandmas and Sunday diner at the other, you got up for Sunday school, and Life truly was worth looking forward too...
If ya find out were they went... Let me know, I would like to catch the first train :)
