SSIL75

How old are your children? Mine were 4 and 2 when I got sober. I have now added a baby to the mix. I try not to think about how her experience of me is so different than their was in their infancy. She has such a lovely life.

dawnie24

I meant ring not girl wtf how that come out wrong I never know haha

My kids are 5, 3 and 5 months old

Kellye C

Hi there, I've been following your threads. AA has helped a lot of people get sober. I got to AA in 2004 sick as a dog in horrible withdrawals and scared out of my head because it ruled my life and was literally hurting my liver and kidneys. My kids were older, 14 and 17, and because I had been a dependable and sober mom for most of their life they KNEW what they were missing when I became a slave to alcohol and very undependable and unavailble to them.

I have been sober for 7 years now and old mom is back. I know ladies who lost their children but were able to get their lives turned around and get them back and I know some who like you were in danger of their alcoholism progressing to where they would lose their kids but they pulled back just in time and their families were restored.

As for the AA number, if it is like the US then it should be answered 24/7. You should be able to talk to whoever answers the phone and perhaps ask for a 12 step call where someone may talk at length with you or a group of two or more MAY make a visit to your home to talk to you and bring you to a meeting. Just depends on how AA is there. I happen to answer phones for the Houston AA and I do have lists of people to do 12 step calls or if it is in the middle of the night then I do it. Bottom line, AA is serious about helping people get their lives back so definitely give them a ring and explain your situation.

As far as talking in meetings you don't have to do or say anything if don't want to. If you get called upon to speak for any reason and you don't want to you can just say "Hi, I'm Dawn and I am an alcoholic. I'm just here to listen today." Period. If you aren't ready to identify yourself as an alcoholic then could just say what I suggested but just say "Hi, I'm Dawn and I'm just listening." You get the idea. Most AA groups love it when newcomers come in and often will direct the topic of the meeting to a newcomers format where members share what it was like, what happened and what it is like now.

Anyway, sorry so long but I do hope some of this helps. Definitely keep us updated. We would all love to see you get out of the grips of alcohol!

Hugs,
Kellye

SSIL75

those are the exact ages of my children.

Tuesday24

How are you doing dawnie?

langkah

A little boost if you need one would be to read some of the Adult Children of Alcoholics members telling their experiences growing up and how it affected them then and now.

Then picture your children also all grown up and talking about their childhood years with Mom. Could be really good ones if you're sober, or they could later share the same kind of pain the ACAs endured and continue to suffer from.

Part of being a parent is to protect our kids from harm, when we can. If you are alcoholic then you harm them greatly with each drink. Since we get worse with the passage of time, any delay in getting effective help compounds the damage done to them.

Hopefully you have acted, or someday in the future you will act and see it through, despite reality feeling lousy when not drinking for the early weeks or months. Wishing this thing away is completely ineffective for very long.

ACA thread... http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-children.html

loveon2legs

Hi dawnie...just stay positive....as hard as that may be...pick yourself up and learn from this...reach out to others..and keep loving those babies of yours!!