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.
In yet another chapter of The Life of an Alcoholic: Stranger Than Fiction, the A gets sent on a real life mission impossible. He chose to accept it, so he will be driving the jeep to a large city 2 hours away, where he's only been twice, with me driving.... He is supposed to deliver an iPhone for a friend who works at the corner store. The phone is going to the friend's daughter (who's seriously ill) in Saudi Arabia, so they can use the Face Time to see each other. The friend gave him $100 for gas and his time. The A is driving with an expired registration, and probably has some empty alcohol containers in there as well. He'd left, and then came back because he couldn't find his phone, which he'd laid on the seat. I think he was actually looking for a reaction from me. I was pretty good at staying detached and so he left without any fanfare. It's sort of a hollow feeling watching the A leave. I said a prayer for his safe trip. I know that when he returns with money left over, it won't be so peaceful at home tonight.
It's truly amazing how so many of these incidents sound just like my life when I was partying and playing music with dope smokers and drinkers - when I was 18. there was always some mission impossible going on, you could never get everybody in the same room at the same time because at any one time one of them was tending to their mission. I would always end up somewhere on time to meet some folks, than half of them were at least 1/2 hour late (usually out trying to find dope) or had to leave 20 minutes after we got rolling because their nephew had come over and told them their uncle needed them to come home for some inscrutable reason. Or whatever. Always something. Some friends grew out of it, and I outgrew some of my friends.
Sorry, It's your vent, it just flashed me back for a minute.
Maybe time to get out for the evening and physically detach? Go do something fun? Anybody to visit? Better yet, an overnighter?
RJ...God always has a plan...Not everyone has the will to follow. Good on you how you handled that. Detached and said a prayer for the alcoholic...very good.