teethgrinder

I was nervous but I went in. I'm glad I did. Other than one person being "snappy" at another- it kind of disrupted the whole meeting for me. She was trying to help a newcomer but started to get a little technical without the expertise and another person in the room snapped at her and interrupted her. I think it took all of us guard. She was going in the wrong direction but handling it that way is only going to discourage others from talking and made me very uncomfortable. The poor woman got up and left and then he went after her. Just seemed unnecessary and inappropriate.

Anyways, I just tried to remember that just because we all are in similar boats doesn't mean we all handle things the same way and we still make lots of mistakes. I am still glad I went. I didn't talk but I did enjoy listening to the others and how they have handled their situations. It's particularly comforting to hear how someone went through extremely rough situations and are doing well now, not destroyed as we all fear.

There was someone there who appeared to have a similar background to mine. A young mother with children and an alcoholic husband. I plan on going back and maybe introducing myself. It would be nice to make a friend who understands.

I just wanted to share my experience tonight. The people on this board are the ones who convinced me to go tonight. Thank you.

cwohio

good for you teethgrinder! sorry about the disruption at your meeting. that's a good idea - go a few minutes early to the next meeting or stay after and talk. sometimes it's easier for those that don't want to share in meetings to talk with one another before or after.

nocellphone

Welcome back, tg!

It's been my experience that meetings are filled, for good or for bad, with imperfect people getting together for mutual aid. We're all just doing the best we can with what we've got at the moment. God knows, sometimes I ain't got very much... I'm grateful y'all let me come back and claim my seat week after week!!!