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.
It has only been 2 days since I found this site (is that possible??? seems like much longer!). I don"t know how I"ve made it this long without it. I have read through your posts, visited the chat room, attended 2 of the on-line meetings, written several posts of my own(I guess its normal to post often in the first few days? Or am I obsessing?), and read and re-read your responses to me.
I just can"t begain to express the comfort I have found from being here. I have been trying to make it on my own with my AH for 31 years, and it has taken it"s toll. I just never realized that such a wonderful resource was available or could do so much toward giving me peace of mind. If God is willing and my courage doesn"t fail me, I plan to attend my first F2F tomorrow night. Without the encouragement from all of you, I would never have had the courage to do it.
I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your kindness and to tell you that you may never know the profound effect that a few quick lines you send off in response to someones pain might have on them. I feel that I am starting on what is going to be a positive, life-changing journey, and I have all of you right there with me, cheering me on. Maybe, in time, I will be strong enough to do that for someone else.
My prayer this morning is that God will bless each of you in a very special way.
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"The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time."
What a wonderful post you wrote!! Thanks, you made my day! Don't worry about your first F2F meeting. I was just like you and was very hesitant to walk through those doors. It was one of the best things that I have ever done for myself. I wasn't one to open up and share my problems, but there, it is ok and encouraged to do so. More importantly, I trust them. I heard a slogan once that I haven't forgotten and think of often. "Secrets keep you sick." So, I talk, I listen, and low and behold, I am learning and getting better. Go there with an open mind and hopefully, you will be eager to go back.
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.
Glad to hear that you'll be going to a f2f meeting -- you're miles ahead of me, it took me forever to muster up the courage to get to my first one (like around 26 years, lol). And I would never have gone in the door if it hadn't been for reading hundreds of posts on here recommending meeting attendance.
That first meeting turned out to be just as wonderful an experience as everyone on here said it would be. And there I was wondering to myself why I had been so afraid of all those nice, kind, caring women who were just like me.
That meeting was in January, and somehow I found myself chairing my first meeting last week, and agreeing to chair again tonight. Because everyone on here kept saying we have to keep coming back, and that service work is part of growing in the program.
See, the first step for me (and you!) was trusting the ESH of the members here, and following their path.
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Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could... Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. - Emerson
Maybe, in time, I will be strong enough to do that for someone else.
You stick with it and you will be strong enough to help others. It happened to me, even though I'm still a work in progress.
I also found this site after 30-something years of living with the AH. For most of the years, I didn't realize that he was an A! I kept thinking it was me. Whoa! I had so much to learn and still do. Using this site has been a tremendous part of my on-going recovery.
Smile, you're in good company. Everyone on this board is wonderful in their own special way.
Take care, Gail
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You have to go through the darkness to truly know the light. Lama Surya Das
Resentment is like taking poison & waiting for the other person to die. Malachy McCourt
This is a journey that requires the courage to walk through a door that is completely black on the other side. I had to make that step a week ago with my daughter. But I can tell you that the hell on this side of the door made the black side welcoming. There comes a point where we all need to make a choice that will change the rest of our lives and hopefully the lives of those we love. Thank God for sites like this and I hope it is as Nancy stated "It works if you work it". What is f2f? As I said I am so new to this.
Don't worry about your first F2F meeting. I was just like you and was very hesitant to walk through those doors. It was one of the best things that I have ever done for myself. I wasn't one to open up and share my problems, but there, it is ok and encouraged to do so. More importantly, I trust them. I heard a slogan once that I haven't forgotten and think of often. "Secrets keep you sick." So, I talk, I listen, and low and behold, I am learning and getting better. Go there with an open mind and hopefully, you will be eager to go back. 
