Holiday Weekender for Christmas 2016
Sobriety is Traditional
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Orcas Island, Washington
Posts: 9,064
Happy Christmas Day!
Welcome, Tiffanyeagle!
SAH, I hope you get the help you need.
MB, this is a tough time of year for many. Those of us who are very sensitive may feel added stress. I pray that you find some serenity!
I am having some coffee and catching up here before joining AA fellows for a walk in the State Park. My wife and I will have a quiet but special dinner.
Keep the faith!
Welcome, Tiffanyeagle!
SAH, I hope you get the help you need.
MB, this is a tough time of year for many. Those of us who are very sensitive may feel added stress. I pray that you find some serenity!
I am having some coffee and catching up here before joining AA fellows for a walk in the State Park. My wife and I will have a quiet but special dinner.
Keep the faith!
Rehydrating to Oblivion.
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: UK
Posts: 1,332
Busy day of visiting various different family factions but its been pretty good, and i've had some lovely food. Back at my flat now and have no plans except to chill. Perfect.
Welcome Tiffany
Welcome Tiffany
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,010
Ugh...I am not going to lie. I have found the past two days to be extremely stressful.
My mother seemed very stressed out and my sister in law seemed very uncomfortable.
They have gone now to her parents for a few days, although they will be back and I can breathe again for now.
My father says I am being ridiculous. He said he noticed some tension yes, but it's not my problem to worry about. He says if my sister in law has a problem with us then she is old enough to tell us herself. Anyway he said no doubt she has heard everything about us from my brother.
My therapist said some thing similar actually. He said whether she is comfortable or uncomfortable with us, that is beside the point. The point is that whether she likes us or not, she is a member of this family now and she has to get used to it.
Truthfully I feel uncomfortable with her too. I tell no one outside my family and best friends about my alcoholism and I know she knows. Plus I was in the wilderness career wise for so many years and she is younger than me, has a PHD and a good job. So perhaps there is something for me to think about as well.
I shouldn't have spent the afternoon re-watching The Lion King. I must admit I cried. I should have picked Harry Potter on the other channel instead.
I can't wait to get out of here tomorrow for a drive or something. Two days stuck in the house is too much.
Anyway Christmas sucked so roll on New Year's!
My mother seemed very stressed out and my sister in law seemed very uncomfortable.
They have gone now to her parents for a few days, although they will be back and I can breathe again for now.
My father says I am being ridiculous. He said he noticed some tension yes, but it's not my problem to worry about. He says if my sister in law has a problem with us then she is old enough to tell us herself. Anyway he said no doubt she has heard everything about us from my brother.
My therapist said some thing similar actually. He said whether she is comfortable or uncomfortable with us, that is beside the point. The point is that whether she likes us or not, she is a member of this family now and she has to get used to it.
Truthfully I feel uncomfortable with her too. I tell no one outside my family and best friends about my alcoholism and I know she knows. Plus I was in the wilderness career wise for so many years and she is younger than me, has a PHD and a good job. So perhaps there is something for me to think about as well.
I shouldn't have spent the afternoon re-watching The Lion King. I must admit I cried. I should have picked Harry Potter on the other channel instead.
I can't wait to get out of here tomorrow for a drive or something. Two days stuck in the house is too much.
Anyway Christmas sucked so roll on New Year's!
Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Florida
Posts: 298
Last year I spent Christmas afternoon sitting by myself in a bar; surrounded by people, but feeling utterly alone. This year, I may be spending the day on my own, but I certainly don't feel lonely.
Alcohol truly doesn't do you any favors.
Alcohol truly doesn't do you any favors.
Sobriety is Traditional
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Orcas Island, Washington
Posts: 9,064
Sad to hear about George Michael--so young to die!
Tetra, I'm sorry that you are feeling so much stress. A drive tomorrow sounds like a good idea!
We got lost on our AA walk around the lake--just gabbing too much and not paying attention to the trails.
Our roast is searing in the oven and smells wonderful!
Tetra, I'm sorry that you are feeling so much stress. A drive tomorrow sounds like a good idea!
We got lost on our AA walk around the lake--just gabbing too much and not paying attention to the trails.
Our roast is searing in the oven and smells wonderful!
Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Melbourne, Victoria Australia
Posts: 1,202
One for all the dog-lovers. Not my dogs - just a pic from Australian Broadcasting Corp's (our 'Auntie' ABC) range of pics from around the country.
LabsatChristmasd34183c54a3c3d84c6ccea102d3a6586.jpg
LabsatChristmasd34183c54a3c3d84c6ccea102d3a6586.jpg
Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Melbourne, Victoria Australia
Posts: 1,202
A rather benign Aussie Christmas-period tradition: the Boxing Day test match at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground). Was just curious as to why it has a kind of 'settling', iconic status....and like most cultural history, it doesn't go back as long as I'd thought.
The surprisingly short history of the Boxing Day Test - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
And by 'settling' I suppose it's something that ordinary people at home can just happily watch, on the couch (hence the Aussie term 'couch potato), the day after all the craziness, everyone's tired, and can (if lucky) just graze away on cold ham, salads, etc. In between naps.
I was never a huge sports fan at all, and am still not. Hence, I'm positively Un-Australian :-) Nevertheless, there is something quite soothing in the rhythms of a Test match - even if one has little understanding of the game, which is very complex and with subtleties not known in other ball sports [ as I learned from a few ex-partners, both cricketers].
For those who may not know about this tradition: many Australians devote much of the summers (from now and onward) to watching or listening to, the Test cricket. The real devotees spend huge amounts of time keeping up with the minutiae. And if it gives a quiet pleasure, why not? We surely need a few of those, these days.
The surprisingly short history of the Boxing Day Test - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
And by 'settling' I suppose it's something that ordinary people at home can just happily watch, on the couch (hence the Aussie term 'couch potato), the day after all the craziness, everyone's tired, and can (if lucky) just graze away on cold ham, salads, etc. In between naps.
I was never a huge sports fan at all, and am still not. Hence, I'm positively Un-Australian :-) Nevertheless, there is something quite soothing in the rhythms of a Test match - even if one has little understanding of the game, which is very complex and with subtleties not known in other ball sports [ as I learned from a few ex-partners, both cricketers].
For those who may not know about this tradition: many Australians devote much of the summers (from now and onward) to watching or listening to, the Test cricket. The real devotees spend huge amounts of time keeping up with the minutiae. And if it gives a quiet pleasure, why not? We surely need a few of those, these days.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Melbourne, Victoria Australia
Posts: 1,202
PS 'listening to the Test?' I hear some say. That, too, is a rather nice tradition....on any given day in summer, you can hear a neighbour, or a tradie out working, or whomever, with their radio (the Wireless!) tuned to the cricket commentary. No pictures. Imagine that!
Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Melbourne, Victoria Australia
Posts: 1,202
Off for my siesta.
Will sometime later post (if I can be bothered to connect up the phone to the computer) two pics of the TWO platefuls given to me every year of Christmas Day Greek stuff. This, from my neighbour, a widow. In her 70s now, she regaled me through the Christmas lead-up that "I will do nothing this year! I'm too tired! I'm sick of it. I've told Them [her family], this is the last time!' I've tentatively - yet forcefully - suggested she tell the family to simply take her to a swanky hotel / restaurant next year :-) It's a Greek Matriarch thing - as my GP assures me (also being Greek).
I still received two platefuls towards the end of the day, which she insists on ensuring I have. Over five years I've been here. God bless her. She and I drive each other crazy. And call each other 'darling'. Have a few spats, get over them, and then resume bickering mildly over the location of this or that plant / vine that should be cropped in our common areas, etc.
She knows about my alcoholism, because I told her. She worries, doesn't really understand it, and then she keeps an eye on my front garden plants, takes in my mail, and so forth, when I have to go to rehab.
I'm very fortunate.
Will sometime later post (if I can be bothered to connect up the phone to the computer) two pics of the TWO platefuls given to me every year of Christmas Day Greek stuff. This, from my neighbour, a widow. In her 70s now, she regaled me through the Christmas lead-up that "I will do nothing this year! I'm too tired! I'm sick of it. I've told Them [her family], this is the last time!' I've tentatively - yet forcefully - suggested she tell the family to simply take her to a swanky hotel / restaurant next year :-) It's a Greek Matriarch thing - as my GP assures me (also being Greek).
I still received two platefuls towards the end of the day, which she insists on ensuring I have. Over five years I've been here. God bless her. She and I drive each other crazy. And call each other 'darling'. Have a few spats, get over them, and then resume bickering mildly over the location of this or that plant / vine that should be cropped in our common areas, etc.
She knows about my alcoholism, because I told her. She worries, doesn't really understand it, and then she keeps an eye on my front garden plants, takes in my mail, and so forth, when I have to go to rehab.
I'm very fortunate.
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