Today I told my 13 year old daughter a little about my drinking, why I had quit and that I was going to AA. I was really nervous because sometimes she gets really uncomfortable with highly personal conversations. It went really well. I'm glad I did it because each person I have this conversation with makes it more real, and gives me a feeling that maybe I really am in this for the long haul this time.
I told her after church. She asked last week if we could start going to church and I found that there is a church down the street from us that is the same denomination as the one I grew up in but haven't attended as an adult. I found the service to be comforting and familiar, the music to be beautiful, and I felt such peace sitting next to my beautiful, inquisitive girl experiencing it all for the first time. Afterwards we walked to lunch together and I simply told her, "I'm grateful for you" to which she said, "oh mom, don't get all sappy on me." So I called her a brat and we split a tuna melt. She thanked me for taking her, several times, but I know I got much more out of it, and it is a gift of sobriety. The gift of becoming open to ideas, faith, belief and the good in people, as well as the ability to get up and get dressed on a Sunday morning with a clear head and conscience. I could not have fathomed doing something like this 4 months ago.
I am so grateful.