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.
a friend in one of my meetings has always said that if you don't have an a in your life go get one because this program is worth it. she says grab one off the street, or from a bar just get one to qualify and the miricles will begin. i always thought no way! if i could have avoided growing up in an a home and marrying an a i would have in a heartbeat. but today i finally became truly grateful for this program. my cousin is having a really awful time with her 15 yr old and is depressed and mad and says she doesn't want anything to do with her ever again. it's her daughter and she's totally thinking that she is writing her off and is feeling all sorts of crazy because of it. my best friend called and told me a he said/she said story about 2 people that she works occasionally with, questioning wether or not she should jump in and try to straighten out these two 50 yr olds who are behaving like 12 yr olds.i sat there and felt complete gratitude for my upbringing and my marriage that got me into these rooms. i have this program and with all the things that have gone on with me in the past year i know that i can handle my life and how to mind my own business. i don't do things perfectly by any means but i do them differently and i am happy and sane most of the time. and happy or sad i know that i will always find comfort, hope and friendship in this program. gratitude is a great feeling and has been fleeting for me lately so i wanted to share. thanks to all of you who have helped me change my life....
My very first alanon meeting I wen to I heard the strangest thing, a woman said that she was grateful that her hubby was an "A". Because it got her into alanon and healthy, she needed these rooms long before she met him, but he got her there.
I'll tell you I thought she was friggin nuts! I thought what a load of crap. But I stayed. And now everytime I newcomer to someone I think of her. Because I say to the new comer that I am grateful that my hubby is an "A" because I needed alanon before I met him, but he got me here, lol. It is so true.
Do I wish he was clean and sober now, of course. Do I wish some of the pain went away, you bet. But I needed alanon longe before I met him, and I know that I will need it long after we seperate, if we ever do.
I was sick before I met him I was sick afer I met him, hmmmmmmmmm the common denominator in that equation is me.
Thanks for sharing your gratitude with us, reminded me of mine.
Yours in recovery,
Mandy
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"Today's problems can not be solved if we still think the way we did when we created them" -Albert Einstein
I didn't have to go find one but I can honestly say that I have thanked my son many times for taking his destructive road into Alcoholism and addiction. Had he not taken that road I would have never came to Alanon nor did a searching inventory of myself or have reached the point today where I am completely comfortable with myself. I no longer feel "less than" as I have most of my life. I know now that I can accomplish anything that I want to regardless of what the people in my life that are sicker than I am are doing.
My son did not understand the first time I thanked him and I'm honestly not sure that he does now. I have come to understand that I need this program a long time before I entered that door for the first time. I have reached a new understanding with my HP and I like me for a change which was something I never was able to do before program.
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Everything I have ever let go of has claw marks all over it.
I don't know if I'd grab an A to qualify...I'd make one up. God knows I have enough unmanageablilty while my parents are off doing what alcholics do. And that's with me enforcing the "1 phone call per week" boundry.
Cool, thanks for sharing your epiphany or as al-anons say "aha! moments." Gratitude surely is a Blessing.
I've heard lots of al-anoners say too, they are grateful for their A's b/c they've learned how to love themselves. It's my opinion that we are capable of quite a lot of love & truly it is a gift.
Once in a meeting, someone sd, "I could be in the Astrodome & there might only be one alcoholic/addict in the entire place and they would make a bee line for me because I'm an enabler."
No need to look for them, they find us. The Higher Power wants us to love ourselves.
Thanks for your post, a friend in recovery, -Kitty of Light
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Light, Love, Peace, Blessings & Healing to Us All. God's Will Be Done. Amen.
Go find an alcoholic?!?!??!?! They find me! LOL. But, that is true, this program makes it worth it. Sounds crazy, but true in my opinion! I can walk into the Astrodome, too, and they will flock around me! LOL
