Greetings!
Grateful, I am praying for your sister and the rest of the family. Stay strong.
I know how hard it is to deal with a sibling who is suffering.
1Step, I like London's idea of getting a new phone number, especially since she used a number of phones to bother you.
There have been some very powerful posts lately, and I relate to the vast majority. This is a tough time; today I have the lobsterfest; tomorrow I am going to lunch at the outdoor restaurant where I had my last ever drink- a frozen Margarita.
We have come so far, but we cannot forget how awful we were and how much better we are now. We CANNOT decide that we will now be able to moderate with a year of sobriety.
I have a gross memory that I have been using whenever av calls. While working slosely with two smokers on a tough case about fifteen years ago, I started smoking cigarettes again for about a year. I had smoked socially in college and quit after graduation. I would not smoke inside, so I would go out on the little patio of my Boston condo. I did not own an ashtray, so I would use a soda or beer can. One night I was so drunk, I took a swig from that can! Matches and cigarette butts!!!! I gagged, vomited from both the taste and the idea of what I was doing. I never smoked another cigarette. Now, whenever the av acts up in this beautiful weather, I think of that. And, when that no longer works, I will dig up more of my absolutely horrible episodes from my past. That works for me!
Take care everyone. Let's keep on keeping on.