Got myself to an AA meeting after writing I had no time..
 

So yesterday after writing I had absolutyely no time to go to AA meetings because of kids, work, etc I did manage to go to an AA meeting.

I walked in a little late and the room was packed and I felt some anxiety but I did see an empty seat near the front so I walked up and had a seat.

The speaker was telling his story of how he has managed his 25 years sober and of how horrible his life was before finding AA. I started feeling pretty good about being surrounded by people who understood.

Low and behold, the lady sitting right to my left drops out of her seat to the floow having multiple seizures. That scared the heck out of me and I kind of tied to help for a bit but other people took over and called 911. It might have been a good thing she was there because there is a fire station right across the street so paramedics were there within about 2 minutes.

After all this I stayed at the meeting and people discussed their own personal stories and other people got chips for multiple years so that gave me alot of hope. I did meet a guy who received his 4 year celebration and I found I had common interests with him so we talked for about an hour after the meeting.

In the end, he offered to be my sponsor but I didn't really say yes.. I need to see first that I can commit as much time as I need to to keep involved in AA. I know I can make room but just not every day. I will give it my all though, I'm feeling really good about being sover and know I need to work the steps.

More than anything I know moderation will NEVER work for me. I use to hate it when people on here wrote that it wouldn't but they were absolutely right. I now truely believe that for a true alcoholic moderation will never work.

Anyway, thanks for all the helpfull replies yesterday that convinced me to attend that meeting. Maybe the seizure thing was a God send so I could see the horrors of this sickness.. I will probably make another meeting tonight and take it from there.

I will not drink today.... Thanks all..

Awesome ! I'm so glad you made it to a meeting. Next time, try and get there early so you can meet a few people.

Do 'ya think ? ;) My sponsor used to tell me "there is no such thng as a coincedence !" Man, I used to hate that...but he's right.

well, this is great news!

the first open meeting i went to with my daughter - someone had a seizure. it is scary. we were all grateful he was there at aa where folks knew how to react, not home alone or something..

blessings, k

Congratulations on not drinking yesterday.The one day at a time thing is really the only way to go at this old dog of alcoholism. Therefore you can say to yourself, that you have the concept of not drinking pretty well figured out. Now as to the meeting attendance, I found that I really have only needed to attend meetings when I didn’t want to and when I didn’t have the time.

In my world staying sober and attending meetings have always gone hand in hand. Sobriety has brought me a much more involved schedule, with children who wanted my time, customers who want to buy things, and on top of all that just a whole bunch of people who want me to attend functions that they invited their friends to attend.

Drinking seemed to be the activity that left me with all sorts of "free time!" If you can’t find time for meetings then you might want to ask yourself the same question I had to finally ask myself, “Was there ever a time when I couldn’t find time to drink?”

Congrats!
Just get to as many meetings as you can. Maybe that gentlemen could be a temporary sponsor for you? Even if not 'officially', he could certainly be someone you can talk to.

BHJ

Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Macphisto. I'm grateful that you are here. Just for today, don't pick up a drink.

Rowan

glad you made it to a meeting

Sounds like a good enough plan to me, Mac, and I hope you make it to another meeting tonight. The seizure was a God-shot story for sure!

To share a little experience from my early sobriety, I found that I couldn't make it to meetings every night because of parenting responsibilities. I found late night meetings and even tried those for awhile, but also felt the need for adequate rest so I didn't do a "90 in 90" for my first five months. But the problem was that in spite of not drinking, I had the dry drunk mentality because I wasn't making it to enough meetings. So the question for me became "how free do I want to be, and am I willing to do whatever it takes?"

It's pretty rare these days that I miss my daily meeting, some days I attend 2-4. And in the event that I can't make it to one I can feel the absence in my recovery, I count the hours or days until the next one. Guess I'm sicker than most;-) Lol

Good for you Macphisto!

Keep moving forward.

I am so proud of you.

Congratulations.

Good to see your meeting was a good one as well.
Well all of them can be because we can always learn something or share something when we go.

wow, just got off the phone with a room friend...

we were talking about recovery "first'

he said, i was gunna to to HG the past few days.. didn't tho... so i said, well! how is that recovery first?...

a real action filled meets you went too Mac, real life... see'n the distruction of alcoholism...

cant see that here, only hear about it...

glad ya hit the meets mac, and next time... why not stay late... lol

all good wishes...

xxoo, rz

good going! keep going to other meetings, mens only, big book etc. they are all different and you can see what "fits" your schedule and needs. some meetings even allow children (i go to an all women meeting and several of the moms bring their toddlers and infants.)

re sponsorship: when i started, i got numbers from lots of people, but i waited awhile before i found someone to approach about being my sponsor. i wanted to learn more about the program and also meet and hear from others. the woman who i finally asked to sponsor me has 12 years of true sobriety, lots of wisdom, and a great sense of humor. i have very little in common with her--other than being an alcoholic--but she's added a great perspective as i go on this continuing journey.

i'm soo proud of you making a meeting. that's a great start and it illustrates your willingness to begin recovery. way to go!

Woohoo!

Great job my friend. I went to one myself tonight. My 3rd.
I actually said something tonight & what a relief to say it out loud & not be looked at like a failure.
Might be old but, this stuck with me tonight.....

F.E.A.R. "Forget Everything And Run"..........Trying not to do that!

Good job again!

V----

I know what you mean. I used to tell myself, "well I only drank a beer" or "I only had two glasses of wine." It all reminded of something my grandmother used to say, "You can't get a little bit pregnant."

It's the same thing with alcohol & substance abuse.

I really admire that even with your reservations, you got up and went to a meeting. I'm so glad that you enjoyed it. I myself took five months to find a sponsor and I'm glad that I did..it was time. I felt comfortable with the program and ready to start working.

Welcome to your new life :-)

Karen

Mac....

What an earthshaking and eye opening experience..wow.

You are in good company..most of us have been "less than honest" with

ourselves about our drinking....my gosh..I sure was.

It took more than a couple of "experiments" before I could admit I was powerless

over alcohol..and could no longer control my drinking.

Oh, and if I ever write something you "hate"..please go right ahead and

say what you feel.

I've got big shoulders..and it is how we all learn together.

Love,

:Flower111:

IO

WTG, Mac!! There's a lot of great experience and suggestions here and at meetings. Don't beat yourself up about not being able to go every day. Just try to go as much as possible (no excuses, now). Hop around and try some different meetings until you find one that feels most comfortable for you and join it as your "home group." I'm so glad that you found it in yourself to make time for your recovery. Keep it up!

Oh yeah...a good idea would be to get to the meetings on time (if not early) to hear the readings. They are so important. It may even be a good idea to get there early enough to participate in the readings. The oldtimers would say it's best to arrive early and stay late.

And F.E.A.R. also stands for "Face Everything And Recover." If we can do it...so can you.

I am glad you went Mac, just go as often as you can if you are busy.
And you are right moderation dont work!

Congrats on your first meeting. I promiss it will help you get your mind right. For drinking is just a simptom. Do as many as you can, and the time with those children will become so much more fullfilling. I remember taking care of mine while drinking. I missed so much love, and held back so much too. All I wanted was my beer. It took one of them getting hurt, and me having to drive them to the hospital drunk to relize what a terrible thing I was doing. Enjoy your children. If like me it did not take long after I sober up you will see so much love in them for you that had been missed while drinking.

I love it GarryW!!!

See, it is things like that. They might seem little, but say & mean a lot.
The "one-liners" are what really get me to think.

Keep it going Macphisto! It starts to be like a weight lifted.
A few more meetings & I will seek an appropriate sponsor.

Very happy for you Bud!