nyala

Hello everyone and thank you so much for the support. It really helped me keep things in perspective.

I can see now the anxiety was being jacked up by my AV just to prepare difficult terrain where it could more easily knock me over, then pick me up again with its warm, comforting booze-soaked BS buddiness.

As it was, circumstances changed ( long story ) and I made it through...

It is now 5.40 on a Saturday morning, I went to bed with the kids and have emerged from 11 hours of rock-solid-like-a-log sleep.

Still dark here and the full moon is casting shadows in the garden. This means it is day 28. I have done a whole moon !

Yuri, Serene - Are we running ? We are aren't we. Cool. I am in.

If June as about surviving, July is about pushing forward and getting better.

What I definitely know about running is that I loathe it. but it makes me feel great. In my experience it takes 4 weeks or maybe a dozen "runs" for me to get over how how awful it feels and then, slowly, slowly, I actually quite enjoy it.

So what a perfect goal for July.

Serene ,re: "how do you do it without having a coronary ? " Lamp-posts my friend. Lamp-posts. Walk ten, run one. Then walk eight, run two. Rinse and repeat.

Or similar, pretty soon you will be running ten, walking two - then running them all and sprinting every tenth one. Then its a hop skip and a jump to teh Olympic qualifiers.

Noolan - everything you write chimes with me, so thank you. It helps more than you will ever know.

1Step - More heroics and congratulations, and your girls tomorrow too. What a lovely reward for a sober week.

I'd be wary of doing the lime and soda/mineral water in bars thing though. Not sure I could be as strong as you. It is good to 'stand up to the bowling' but beware of edging one to the slips ( sorry US pals this is cricket ). There are other places to go than bars. Places that won't sell you booze. What are you going to do if some friendly person engages with you and buys you a drink?

Sorry if that sounds preachy, but in a way I am writing to myself too... What is great about SR is that we can see others doing what we do, struggling in the same ways, and overcoming each little battle, growing stronger - more resilient
every day... every moon.

Caramel WB. Just checked in with you in July class too. Whichever class you stick with it is great to have you back.

Happy 4 July to all Americans and happy hot summer days to all UK friends.

Now 6.20 - almost sunrise in deep midwinter down here. I'm going to take the Yuri challenge, find my trainers and walk a few lamp posts.

Go well, everyone.