Weasel1966

At times I find it tough to read the newcomers threads. The pain in them holds a mirror to me. When I first stumbled on SR I had two extreme reactions.

First, I was reading about myself in the words of complete strangers. I thought whoa... Am I that typical?

The second was, wow... Maybe there is hope for me? Others have stopped.

At that time the idea I could ever be happy and joyful was a far off dream and certainly ridiculous. Not any more....

The best way to know you can find happiness and experience joy again is to see it in others who have similar struggles. Not everything is perfect but the weekenders that come here week after week are examples of working hard to make the most out of a sober life.

You can find happiness again. Joy can be felt. Hope is here for the taking.

I find great joy in my sobriety. A sense of calmness that comes from knowing I don't have to ever drink again.

Maybe as we post this week we can tell the newcomers about when we turned that corner. Or perhaps how we are still turning that corner.

*Ring Ring*

Welcome to your sober weekend!



Ken

Gilmer

Wow! Once again!

MyShadow

It's post like this that show me I'm on the right track and that this reality is feasible. Thanks a bunch for this post.

Kafkaesque

Thank you for posting this. Just last night I was telling my husband how I wish I could see the future- what I would be like after a year of being sober or after a year of relapses and failed attempts to stay sober. I thought seeing the light at the end of the road so to speak would keep me on the right path. But this is just as good. Thank you for helping me understand what long-term sobriety will look and feel like

Soberwolf

Riding roof in a raincoat thanks Weasel !!

Ruby2

Not shotgun but I'm in. What a day so far. Busy.

Weasel, thank you for your thoughts. I do find peace and joy easier to find now that I'm not drinking. Everything always looked so grim through the bottom of the bottle. Reading through this newcomers forum is a reminder of the struggles I never want to repeat.

So. I will sit myself down for the ride. I'm off tomorrow and plan to meet a couple of friends for a morning AA meeting.

Weasel1966

Welcome myshadow and/kafkaesque!

Join us this weekend as we get together. We do this every week and you can see how we all make the weekends something to live for.

Lots of fun and cool people hang out here!

Glad to have you on our sober bus!

Ken

Weasel1966

Hey BigS... How are you doing from the sting???

bigsombrero

Hello weekenders! A bit off-topic for anyone new here, I promised to wax poetic about my stingray attack last weekend///

Let me begin my yarn by assuring you that the sea was angry that day, my friends. Down on the border of El Salvador, the Pacific Ocean is rough and unforgiving. As I walked into the deep, I could feel the rage and power of the largest body of water on earth. Little did I know that the monsters of the deep were lurking right next to me. The beast was 50 feet long if he was a foot, my fellow captains! When I stepped on him, he let out a growl that shook the earth from here to the South Pole! His tail wrapped around my ankle and shot pure FIRE into 'me foot, and I tussled with the monster until I was free and back on land...

Okay, so that was a bit of a stretch. But, I did get stung by a stingray and it hurt like the dickens. Got rushed a few blocks by ambulance to a little "Farmacia" and received an injection (right in my rear end) and was back on my feet a few hours later. Still recovering 5 days later - feels more like an old bee sting, a bit itchy. Black and blue though, for sure. I think I'll be okay! I apologize for the photo of my Hobbit-foot, but I feel this is needed so that you're aware of my suffering!



Happy weekend folks!

Behan

Thanks Ken! Count me in! Will need it this weekend. Really noticing what i now believe are withdrawal symptoms: sleep disturbance, nightmares, lethargy, no motivation, intermittent panic!

B

Gilmer

Whoa, Big S! That's a significant injury!

Soberpotamus

BigS, glad you were treated and are recovering. It looks like a nasty sting for sure. My mom and I had a vacation years ago in Sanibel and Captiva Islands in Florida, and I remember all the stingrays in the water. And the little sharks! Quite a sight to see up close.

unitedguy

I am down for a Sober weekend!!
Go Hawks!

Soberpotamus

Finding joy is an ongoing thing for me, Weasel

Weasel1966

Always happy to have you with us Behan.

it took a while for things to start to clear for me. About three months in I saw changes.

This is when AV will think it has you on the ropes. We both know he dosent. Post here and speak up if you need anything this weekend.

And don't fight it. It you are not motivated then don't be motivated. Do nothing. When I fought the feelings and I made this a bigger task than it was. I felt bad because I felt guilty that I was down that I convinced myself there was no other path than to go back.

Sometimes I had to sit in my poo and just let things go past.

Ken

Kafkaesque

I am also down for a sober weekend, so I'll be here! This weekend especially... We are going out to celebrate my best friend (and former drinking buddy)'s birthday but I am determined to stay sober and ignore any temptation!

LBrain

ouch BigS - It looks like it smarts. But if you were still drinking in chiland and hungover you never would have experienced the joy of getting stung in the Pacific - small price to pay? Better than getting your head smashed into a pole.

As for me, I took a the proverbial 'year off' to get things sorted out. I'm still in transition as far as the direction in life I am going. One thing for sure is, now that I am sober, I am quite content with whatever happens to come my way. I have a year of grace as far as savings go - not at risk of losing home. But soon I must start seeking out employment/decide what I want to do. Much depends on my other half finishing her initial schooling, getting licensed and a job. Then I am more free to 'freelance' rather than tying myself to some 'employer'.

whoa! what's that popping noise? I just had to scurry to rescue the brussel sprouts I had in a pan. Only burnt on one side - so they're okay, she'll eat em.
I am on day four of nicotine quit - I've been munching on radishes for the past hour.
Much better than the big bag of potato chips I had my hand stuck inside yesterday.
I'm still really antsy. 25 years of a nicotine addiction that really took off when I quit booze. Nicotine is next on my TO DON'T list.

Hope you all who had to deal with the snow in the northeast are okay. And Ireland too!
I'd rather have two feet of snow than 110 degree temps they are getting down under tho.
Stay cool down there.

LBrain

I was sitting here perched for shotgun. But this bird kept on singing outside the window. So I went to get my binoculars and bird book - wanted to try to identify it from it's song. There it goes again - 4 sharp shrills, then 5 or 6, but mostly four. I think it's mad that I didn't fill my feeders...
While I was away for a minute, gilmer takes shotgun out from under my nose. But I was warming up the buses waiting for weasel to show up.

bigsombrero

LB I am also an amateur birder - love identifying different species, it's a great hobby. One of my goals is to spot a Resplendant Quetzal one day down here, but I really need to head deep in to the jungle for that.

Have you tried vaping, LB? I myself used to smoke and now I use one of those "vape" deals. I just keep it in the house for those odd cravings. I don't mean to put ideas in your head if you're hell-bent on just getting rid of the nicotene, so I do apologize if this advice wasn't warranted.

As for the job situation, I also had 1 year sober under my belt before I got back into full-time employment. I was actually living off public assistance by that time, so I didn't have much of a cushion...but things worked out. I'd recommend continuing to look for something that you really want, something you feel would be a good fit. Just don't take any-old-thing out of desperation, it sounds like you're not planning on it!

Ruby2

Wow BigS! That looks nasty. I'm glad you were able to get it treated so quickly. What a tale! Made me laugh. Hobbling on hobbit feet.

Brain, did you identify the bird? I'm squinting at my phone anday have missed it. I spotted a big hawk in the tree across the street from me over the weekend. Cool.

Almost lunch time. I'm hungry.

Behan, hang with it. It does get easier. I was pretty lethargic the first month or so.