Archive for the 'Snowbriety' Category

texting
(Old timer 40 yrs. or more)
By Snow P.
When I think I can stand the heat, I go to a meeting in a small church room with no air conditioning here in south Florida just to see God’s colorful treasure box in action at what is always an “unorthodox” meeting. It’s folks in varying stages of life, mostly unemployed and a bit beaten up by our disease, but the meeting has such a life of its own and is amazing. Although I am old school program, I know I’m not to interfere and be one of those bleeding deacons, but just to sit and become one of many. Sometimes someone will raise their hand and start singing as a song seems appropriate to them for the topic, and no one will shut them up. Backtalk, crosstalk and yelling across the room and lots of laughing are part of the tempo. One time a 6’5” man raged out of the room and I was sure homicide was imminent, but when I returned two days later, he came walking in calm as can be to read the preamble. I was truly shocked that he was not in jail for life. When a toothless man who stutters raises his hand to talk, everyone patiently and kindly listens for as long as it takes him to say whatever spiritual message he has to deliver. When they read “we are like men who have lost their legs, they never grow new ones” you look around the room and see there is more than one man sitting there limbless.
It’s obvious to me God attends every meeting at victor-e and I am to keep my mouth shut and participate as inspired. Sometimes it’s hard for me, but I practice. Yesterday I sat next to a woman who was texting on her cell phone the entire meeting. I mean the entire meeting. All I could do was keep repeating to myself, “It’s not your business, you’re not her sponsor, and we don’t have AA police, just keep your mouth shut.” I wanted badly to just lean over and whisper something about “not texting” into her ear, but that would break my own rule about talking during meetings. I told myself that if after the Our Father I were holding hands with her, I would say something about it. As it would unfold, I was holding hands with someone else at the end. I told myself again to shut my mouth and just go home. I said nothing and left the meeting. The same girl, whom I had never seen before, came all the way to the end of the parking lot to find me as I was getting into my car. That was about a large a sign to put mouth in gear as I could possible get. Poor thing only wanted to introduce her to me and didn’t hear all the conversations I was having in my head previously. After the pleasantries, I told her that texting during the meeting was very distracting. She apologized and said she has trouble remembering things and wasn’t texting just taking notes. I told her “Then get a paper and pencil. It’s not about you, it’s about the message we give to the newcomer.” She burst out in tears would not let me hug her, console her or talk to her at all and ran away crying as I called out her name.

As I thought about it this morning, texting during meetings is about more than distracting the newcomer from hearing the message of hope and recovery, it’s about anonymity too. If someone thinks everything they are saying at a meeting is being broadcasted via text, our critical privacy is violated and our sense of safety broken. AA is the last thing I tried and the first thing that worked. There is no place left for people like us to go. We have flourished with church- like privacy and it seems it is a necessary component of our society. It’s a place where movie stars, criminals, and all manner of high profile people can come for the same message and feel and be “safe” in the rooms. Imagine what would happen if someone like Mick Jagger or any other celebrity came into the program, and everyone was texting everything he said during the meeting to a website. We would finally have corrosion from within as Bill predicted. I have seen snippets of this as people have texted live from a meeting onto Facebook about a boring speaker. It has already begun.

We are raising younger and younger alcoholics as they come into recovery and sponsors have to make sure the basic elements of our program don’t melt away in wake of the fast paced technology we have all so readily embraced. We jumped from pagers going off during meetings to cell phones ringing to text bells pinging in no time at all. Sponsors have new Sober Etiquette responsibilities that did not exist when the Big Book was written. Our program at 75 years old is still in its childhood and we have to make sure it grows old along with us.

So you know texting abbreviations WHEN YOUR ARE NOT IN A MEETINGS:
AAP - Always a pleasure
ADP - Any Day Now
AFAIK - As Far As I Know
AFK - Away From Keyboard
ASAP - As Soon As Possible
A/S/L - Age/Sex/Location
ATM - At The Moment
B/F - Boyfriend
B4 - Before
B4N - Bye For Now
BBIAF - Be Back In A Few
BBIAM - Be Back In A Minute
BBL - Be Back Later
BC - Because
BF - Best Friend
BFF - Best Friends Forever
BFN - Bye For Now
BOL - Best Of Luck
BRB - Be Right Back
BTW - By The Way
CU - See You
CYA - See You
D/L - Download -or- Down Low
DIKU - Do I Know You?
FWIW - For What It’s Worth
FYEO - For Your Eyes Only
FYI - For Your Information
G/F - Girlfriend
G2G - Got To Go
GB - Goodbye
GL - Good Luck
GR8 - Great
GTG - Got To Go
HAGS - Have A Great Summer
HF - Have Fun
HRU - How Are You?
IAC - In Any Case
IANAL - I Am Not A Lawyer
IC - I See
IDK - I Don’t Know
IIRC - If I Remember Correctly
IM - Instant Message
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
IMNSHO - In My Not So Humble Opinion
IMO - In My Opinion
IRC - Instant Relay Chat
IRL - In Real Life
JK - Just Kidding
JKBNR - Just Kidding, But Not Really
KIT - Keep In Touch
L8 - Later
L8R - Later
LMAO - Laughing My Ass Off
LOL - Laughing out Loud
LTNS - Long Time No See
M8 - Mate
MF - Male or Female?
MYOB - Mind Your Own Business
NBD - No Big Deal
NM - Never Mind
NMP - Not My Problem
NOYB - None Of Your Business
NP - No Problem
OIC - Oh, I See
OMG - Oh My God
OMW - On My Way
OP - On Phone
OTL - Out to Lunch
OTOH - On The Other Hand
OTW - Off To work
PLZ - Please
POS - Piece Of Excrement
PPL - People
RL - Real Life
ROTFL - Rolling On The Floor Laughing
RSN - Real Soon Now
RTFM - Read The F-bomb Manual
SPST - Same Place Same Time
STR8 - Straight
TAFN - That’s All For Now
TBD - To Be Determined
THX - Thanks
TMI - Too Much Information
TTFN - Ta Ta For Now
TTYL - Talk To You Later
UL - Upload
WB - Welcome Back
WK - Weekend
WTF - What The F?
WTG - Way To Go
WTS - What the Shizzle?

garlic
The Sunday morning perfume of simmering garlic
seasoning the pot
smokes up my kitchen with memories.
I see a wooden coffee grinder
with fine ironwork and a secret drawer
that held the prize. “No more chickory to stretch
it like during the depression” Dad said,
“cause these is good times.”
A bushel of fresh snails,
a pizza he carried all the way home
hot from Tremont Avenue warms my heart.
There was no such thing as delivery in those days.
Your Dad was the delivery man.
He pulled the Christmas tree every year
up four flights of stairs,
thrilled he could provide it to honor
his religion and family.
He placed every single piece of tinsel straight
like a prayer, from the top down.
As I start cooking for a feast
this morning in my pajamas,
I can only smile knowing he passed on to me
the excitement and joy of these two words…
“Company’s coming!”

Happy Father’s Day to the best Dad that ever lived.

sanantonio

They found a two million year old skull of a 9 year old boy recently. They say he is a new species and perhaps defines the moment when we transitioned from ape to man. While that is astonishing, we’ve been prepped with the dinosaur statistics for quite some time now. What’s hard to believe is that Alcoholics Anonymous came to us only seventy five years ago. While I was still a lost and broken child, Bill and Bob were having the communion of pain and miracle, eye to eye which gave birth to this worldwide phenomenon. It would seem that with all the wise, religious, and brilliant men and women that have existed for thousands of years, this simple program should have been around a lot sooner. It wasn’t here until the right broken people showed up to receive it and the Grace of God made it grow.

It took me a long time to find out that the International Convention happens only every five years, and a long time for my children to grow up so I could leave town and not miss the joy of them. I attended my first one five years ago. I saw how I was connected to something so much bigger than I ever knew. I saw that we have a divine responsibility to carry the message, that our love is so much greater than our differences, it’s breathtaking. It carries you another five years biding your time so you can see the global miracle again. You don’t have to practice principals over personalities, for a weekend, you become it.

The impact of 60,000 or so people grinning from ear to ear, swarming the streets in rivers of every size, shape, and age that God could think of, is overwhelming. The connectivity starts in your stomach, dances around your heart and shakes out your hand as you met one new friend after another in an elevator, at a hot dog stand or when you spot a familiar face in the crowd. Yet everywhere you are reminded it is a daily reprieve based on your spiritual condition. If you feel alone, it’s your obligation to reach out and get connected. If you see someone else looking lost, it’s your obligation to speak up. Only a fit spiritual condition allows you to do either without fear.

No, it’s not about you, but it’s all about you. Each single person makes the miracle live. As one brother or sister falls, another will take their place. It’s like ring around the rosy, we all hold hands, or we all fall down. As of last night, there are 49,500 people registered for this event July 1-4. I hope to see you in San Antonio when we will hold precious hands around the globe.

Snow@sobercelebrations.com

bird-twice I know, I know Cinderella wasn’t really true. It was just a fairytale that gave little girls something to dream about; a good looking guy, some great shoes and a house you don’t have to clean. The story ends with ..”and they lived happily ever after” leaving whatever that means in the cartoon world up to your imagination. The program has kind of been my Disney, giving me as wonderful a happily an ever after as any girl could wish for. I just spent 7 wonderful nights on the “8th” wonder of the world, Oasis of the Seas. Can your life really be magic if you are all alone with no witnesses? I don’t know, but I do know there are plenty of witnesses in my life who can see what God can do for all of us.

I was blessed to have been on this cruise with a sponsee and family from Denmark, a bunch of my lovely Gratitude Cruisers and one incredibly generous man who gifted me and my sweet hubby the whole trip in a Grand Suite. We have never taken such a luxurious trip in our lives, and it was so indulgent, I didn’t want to miss a minute of it so I didn’t get off the ship once! I told him I wasn’t getting off the ship unless it was sinking and I meant it!
The show “Come Fly with Me” was filled with dancers and props that would make Broadway proud. A full size plane came wheeling onto the stage as acrobatic dancers and aerial artists swung and sang in clouds of smoke and sparkle.
The ice show “Frozen in Time” was just as magical with costumes and props as elegant and clever as any wardrobe designer could create. In one duet, the female dancers comes out in hefty long peasant costume. During their duet, I would say she changed her costume in a three second swoosh of a drape not less than 20 times. It was amazing as you never saw where the old costume went and it was done so quickly. The ice acrobatics took your breath away as skaters were swung and twirled within inches of this miniature rink.
The ship is a feast not to be minimized by small chatter. You must go onboard to see what cruising has become and join the 21st century by experienceing this technological wonder. We ordered room service on the huge flat screen TV in our room and within 10 seconds a staff member called to verify the order. Many more wonderful details can fill a book.

When I crawled into the rooms so many moons ago, I knew my life was over. I was glued to the wrong end of the telescope where it is all distorted and you can’t see and you can’t move and you can’t even envision what it looks like from the other end. It took thousands of alcoholics in recovery, people in the God zone, in the rooms, in the day, in the night to pull me around. It was scary, I didn’t trust anyone, I didn’t like change, but gradually they got me. They covered me with so much love I had to move toward the right end of life and start to live it a tiny bit at a time.
My life is so full, so rich, so full of adventure and surprises, I can’t wait to see what is coming next. I know there will be heartbreak, but I also know I still couldn’t begin to dream up what God already has already had in store for me.

Merry Christmas

Dec 25th.

straight-road
There are higher powers and there are lower powers. The higher powers are belief in something greater than ourselves, belief in God, belief in Jesus, in Buddha, in any kind of religion or spiritual path which helps us live on higher ground. The lower powers of greed, resentment, and contempt are also strong powers that lure and entice with feelings of superiority. We each have a choice every day which powers to invite into our lives, to choose and to try to live good lives by. We have to stay on the ground and trust that the road is straight even though we can’t see it up ahead. The photo here I took from a plane shows how straight the road really is. Let it begin with you. Forgive that person you will never forgive and share the brief journey on this planet with your brothers and sisters in peace. Merry Christmas everyone, may all your dreams come true.

holiday-header

What does rsvp mean?
It’s French, means répondez s’il vous plaît, respond if you please, usually by the date on the invitation.

What if it’s a party with alcohol?
“We are miracles of mental health” p. 133. Ask your sponsor if you are a miracle yet and spiritually fit enough to go! Eat a full meal before you go; When you put down your drink, never pick it up again, get a new one. If someone asks if you want a drink, you say yes, a coke please, any soda is a drink!

Do I have to bring something?
Just like the wise men, always bear gifts, no matter how small; flowers, some cookies, a package of pretty napkins, something to show your appreciation because the person was nice enough to invite you and arrange for you to have a good time.

At the last minute can I bring a guest or child?
Ask the host/hostess first. It may be an adult only party in which case get a babysitter or stay home. If it is a large party, the hostess may say to bring an extra adult with no problem

What if I rsvp and then changed my mind and don’t go?
It depends on what type of party it is. If it’s a sit down dinner for 10, you must call and cancel. If it is a large party, I usually won’t bother the hostess and call the next day to apologize for not being there, and find out how it turned out for the wonderful person who invited me.

What if I get a better offer?
You own nothing but what is inside of you. Don’t say yes until you are sure that is what you want to do. Your word is your honor. If you say you are going to be someplace, be there. If you get a better offer, you may be able to split the evening and do both. If not, assume God has a purpose for you attending the one you said yes to and go to find out what it is.

How do I handle my fear of people?
Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us…but not without work! The only people who have courage are the ones who do what they are afraid of. You get on your knees the day of the event, ten times if necessary, and ask God to give you the courage and strength to show up for your own life. You have the option of showing up to find out that there is nothing to be afraid of or waiting until another time for the same lesson in growth. It’s not going away and you will have to learn how to talk to people eventually. All people have to put their pants on one leg at a time, there is no one greater or lesser than you. Being afraid of people is just more self centeredness. Say the 3rd step prayer. It’s not about you, but how you can be of service to the people God is putting in your path.

How do I dress?
Dress like a grown up. Go look at some magazines and determine what a person of class and dignity looks like. Pretend you are one if you have to and wear something respectable. You can never look too good. Only if the hostess says it’s a jeans party do you wear jeans. Otherwise gals, wear a pair of pants or a skirt with a pretty blouse and a nice necklace if you don’t have a suit or nice dress. Guys, clean collared shirts and a jacket or a fancy shirt. No shorts, T Shirts or flip flops. You can also find lots of wonderful dress clothes at Thrift Stores. Ladies, don’t wear “hunting clothes” …necklines down to your navel or skirts up to your thighs, no see through anything, and if you have a thong on, we don’t want to know it!

How do I handle my social anxiety?
I never had a problem with my coffee table. We are only afraid of people and that’s why it is addressed in our steps. It’s more self centeredness; what are they thinking about me, how do they think I look? what if someone thinks I’m not smart? What if they ask me something I don’t know? What if they notice I’m not drinking? This is all self centeredness and we have a program for this, we have to ask God to go to the party ahead of us and be there when we arrive. Relieve me of the bondage of self is the key. It’s not about you, but how you can be of maximum service to mankind. Maybe there is someone there that really needs to talk about an ailing parent, or a broken heart or a lost purse, you don’t know. You just show up to see what assignment God has for you at that location. It’s not about what people think of you, but how close attention you are paying to them. You have to listen to where the opportunity is to be of service. If you are hiding in a corner, you can’t hear it. You have the grace of God in you and are obligated to shine your light to help others who may be in the dark.

What if I don’t have a date (weddings)?
This assumes you have been sent an invitation for two guests, so bring a friend in the program with you. I have taken girlfriends to a weddings and had a great time. Again, it’s not what people think of you, it’s what God thinks of you. Life is to be enjoyed, not endured. Find ways to enjoy it so you can help others enjoy it.

How do I handle social conversations?
You get out of the way and ask a million questions of the person you are talking to. Most people love to talk about themselves. Ask about their jobs, their families, their children, where they were born, what they love to do, where they live. Find out about them and how wonderful they are. How do they know the host, what foods/restaurants do they like? It’s not about you. If they ask you a question you are uncomfortable about, answer with a question!

Is it ok to just find a chair and stay there?
You can’t be of maximum service to God and mankind, the ultimate goal of the 12 steps, if you sit in a corner with a lampshade over your head hiding the miracle you have been blessed with. You have to start someplace and if it is your first party, make progress no matter how small. It’s the baby steps that get you on the journey. You are obligated to shine your magic in the world in whatever small way you can. Be of service, if you are frightened, help the hostess serve or clean up, get busy and be about God’s business. Be useful.

What if I have certain foods I cannot eat?
Don’t eat them. No one is ever going to force you to eat or drink anything. If you know ahead of time that something you can’t eat will be served, ask the hostess if a substitute is possible because you have an allergy. They will surly understand. If no substitute is possible, ask the waiter if you can have more of whatever vegetable is on the plate with added salad. Talk to the waiter and I am sure they will come up with a dish that will work for you. If it’s a buffet, the choices are clear, they’re yours. If you are afraid you won’t get enough to eat, bring a small sandwich or granola bar in your bag which you can eat outside or in the rest room at any time. If you suspect there is alcohol in the food, ask whoever cooked it and don’t eat it. According to Duke University, most alcohol does not cook out of food. Tell them you are allergic and ask for a substitute or get more soda/coffee/cookies. You won’t starve.

How late can I arrive?
If you are invited for an event at 7:00, arrive at 7:00. Your word is your honor. If you accept an invitation, plan to be there. At any fine restaurant they will only hold a table for 15 minutes. Honor your host/hostess by being on time

How early can I leave?
You can leave 5 minutes after you arrive if you absolutely need to. The point is you said you would do something, which is called a commitment, so do what you say you would do. If you want to leave because you are having fear, try to pray and work through it because you eventually have to do it anyway. You will learn a little more every time and eventually be comfortable in your own skin no matter where you are, no matter who you are with. It takes practice and time and doing it. You get that much closer to being you were meant to be every time you want to run and don’t, and remember God will meet you anywhere!

Alcohol in Food

Aug 26th.

dessert
I do a lot of cruising and see sober folks choose to disregard the clear signage that some of the desserts on the menu are alcohol laced. I have the slogan “Live and Let Live” deeply imbedded in my program and say nothing. Personally, I know I can’t screw with alcohol in any shape or form no matter how cute it looks. A teaspoon can lead to a tablespoon, and then before you know it, why not a shot.
The National Council on Alcoholism, and Drug Dependence survey found that many believe alcohol used in recipes burns off in the cooking process. Federal government research acutally has shown that depending on the alcohol type and the cooking method used, anywhere from 5 to 85% of the alcohol used in recipes remains in the dish after cooking.

I don’t buy Dijon mustard made with white wine. I don’t know how many ham and cheese sandwiches with this mustard will set off a physical compulsion or mental obsession that will lead to a drink, but I don’t want to find out. After the physical house cleaning, it’s the mental, spiritual and emotional housecleaning that needs daily attention. Sobriety is like a head of lettuce, it’s perishable. It’s only what you do today that counts.

cutie-dogs In the era when I came into recovery, newly sober women either wanted to fix their teeth or get divorced. These days it’s only changed a little; it’s the plastic surgeon or the divorce lawyer. It’s easier to fix something outside than inside, but it’s also possible to be sober and stay married, even if it’s to someone not in the program. No, he “doesn’t understand” and he doesn’t have to, you do!

Saturday, August 15th is my wedding anniversary. I am married to my Velveteen Rabbit for 28 years now. I have loved all the hair and muscles off of him and he is my best guy friend, my lover, my sweetheart, my witness, and the father of my three children. God could not have picked someone more perfect for me as we are two New York City kids, and although he is not in recovery, we “get” each other. He has never told me to go to a meeting or not go to a meeting and I have been active in AA since we met. I was sober six years when we got hitched, so he has never seen me drunk. He has seen me in despair, but not in the complete despair of a drunken woman; he has seen me angry, but not angry enough to kill; he has seen me feeling suicidal, but not seen the razor blade in my hand; he has seen me run away from home and abandon my family, but seen me come back three weeks later, after about 50 meetings, ready rebuild our lives.

It has been real life, up and down, emotionally, financially, physically and spiritually. We have held on, and every time the smoke cleared from whatever bomb it was that went off we were as surprised as anyone else to find that we were still holding hands.

When we fell in love, we were inseparable and locked together. As love grew and the weight and joys and pains of family, children, education, careers, dreams, a house and finances were added, our arms pulled apart to form a rubber band that the weight of it all. The rubber band got stretched to the breaking point. If you have the courage to hold on, if you have the twelve steps to guide you, if you have a connection with a higher power, you can live, pray and wait past the breaking point to get to the other side. Waiting is something alcoholics hate to do, but you have to wait in order for things to pass. Eventually you start moving in each other’s direction again as the things in between you shift and change. The school bus doesn’t need to come anymore, the career changes, the finances change, the responsibilities change. Waiting for this to happen takes time, sometimes two or three years, sometimes ten. It will all pass eventually.

When you are at the absolute breaking point, that’s when most people get divorced. It’s easier, because it’s too painful. It’s human nature to not want to hurt. Yes, the children see this horrid relationship and it’s a bad thing for them to see, or is it? If we want them to have long term stable marriages, isn’t this what they are, staying together through the good times and bad times and coming out the other side? How can we be role models if we pretend marriages are only two options; honey cakes or divorce? We have already had the courage to get sober, the hardest thing any of us ever had to do. A bad time in a marriage is easy compared to getting sober. There aren’t good days and bad days in any long term relationship, there are good years and bad years.

Technology is creating young adults living in an instant gratification world. Status updates on facebook, twitter, cell phones and laptops provides instant communication and the illusion that they have “relationships” with thousands of people. There is no instant gratification in a long term marriage. I wonder how the 50% divorce rate will change with this next generation of tech savvy young adults. Are they going to think they should have instant conflict resolution in marriages and if not, to just get divorced and tweet on?

My parents were married 60 years when my Dad died. I asked my Mom what their marriage was like at that point. She said “We’re just like brother and sister.” I knew what she meant; they were as close a family member as you could get. My whole life I watched them kiss each other hello every morning and kiss each other good night every night. Maybe the small things are the glue of a relationship. My Aunt Chick still combs my Uncle Joey’s hair every morning after 64 years of marriage. I have a feeling that this type of kindness is the underlying element in long term love.

During the bad times, I put the marriage in God’s hands every single moment of every day and asked Him to figure it out. Now, 28 years later, we can’t wait to have a date and go to brunch on the beach every Sunday, can’t wait to spend time together and go play. We still get a kick out of each other and believe in each other and in each other’s dreams. Things will definitely change as we continue getting older and more factors introduce themselves into this love affair and yes, maybe we will get divorced someday after all. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know God holds the future. He already has it figured out, and I will defer to His wisdom while our beautiful fellowship holds me through whatever is next.

How did this wind up in my hand?

How did this wind up in my hand?

I don’t keep any alcohol in the house because I am a real alcoholic. Although it has been many moons since I had a drink, I know that it is cunning, insidious and powerful. I awoke many mornings in the old days baffled as to how I had yet another hangover when I set out with such determination the night before. I was sure I didn’t want to get looped and yet there, against my will, it happened again.
I don’t keep booze in the house because with this disease, I don’t know when or how it will strike and I prefer to keep constant vigilence. There can be a split moment when it looks at me and before I know it, I could be lifting a glass with poison in it to my lips.
Of course, there are many things I need to do to stay spiritually fit so that alcohol has no relevance in my life, but good housekeeping is also part of a healthy lifestyle. I find when someone brings over wine for a dinner party and there is a leftover bottle, it bothers me the way a mosquito in a room does. I don’t know if it will bite me, but I am surely not taking any chances.

beach-boats1

I just came back from a cruise to Alaska where a posse of us carried the message to several small local meetings while on the road. At one meeting a gentleman was lamenting that he could not have a couple of beers in celebration of Memorial Day. After all, it was summer, and it was his American right to have a few beers. He could not make the connection between beer and the fact that he had just gotten out of jail after his sixth DUI. It truly is an astounding disease. Alcohol twists our minds so much we can’t quite comprehend what it says in the Big Book, “We are like men who have lost their legs; they never grow new ones.”

My first summer sober, I remember being on the beach playing scrabble with another newcomer. We wanted to be like the other young girls in bikinis seemingly having fun drinking. The weather was steaming hot and I remember really wanting a cold beer. It didn’t even matter that I hated beer’s bloating bubbles and bad taste and that I didn’t drink it even when I was active. I kept telling myself it was just a another cold drink. It was the seduction of it that I had to deal with, and another old idea that I could drink like other people that had to be smashed. I bought a cold soda, played several resentful games of scrabble that day, and just put more time into the getting sober thing. I was not sure I wanted it, all I knew is that I would get it first and decide later if I wanted it or not. They told me I could go back to drinking any time I wanted to.

How do you stay sober in summer when it seems like everyone else is having fun drinking?

#1 You must first accept that we are bodily and mentally different from our fellows.
For us to drink is to die or go insane. I had a pretty easy time admitting this, but a hard time accepting it. I had to pray fervently on my knees every day to the God of my sponsors understanding for help accepting it, just for today.

#2 Never go to any event on an empty stomach. We get confused on body signals with cravings and huger.

#3 If possible, take your own car to all events so you can leave if you feel uncomfortable.

#4 When you go to the beach
Take a small cooler of your very own with water, drinks and snacks. Bring some for sharing so you don’t run out if there are moochers around!

#5 When you go to B-B-Qs
Bring your own preferred beverages and some sweets to the host/hostess as a gift. Leave a small cooler with your favorite beverages and snacks in your car in case you run out.

#6 When you go fishing or to a baseball game
See above.

#7 When you go on vacation, go to www.aa.org and get the list of meetings that are available in the city where you will be going. Use the telephone to call your sponsor at home or the local intergroup to tell them you are in town. Get a temporary sponsor if you are spending lots of time on holiday in one place.

#8 Have fun at fellowship events
Check your local Intergroup for fun events like “Bowling for Big Books” “Movie Night”
“Picnics,”

#9 Plan a Fellowship Vacation
There are plenty of conventions, round ups and conferences to attend. Get some pals and plan to go on a program vacation at one or more of these. Plan on going on a Gratitude Cruise in fellowship.

#10 Create your own events to look forward to
Have a fellowship BBQ, Pool Party, Breakfast Bike Ride, Scrabble Tournament, or Pictionary Party. Get involved on any fellowship committee that is planning something, especially any fundraiser for your local Intergroup. Become part of the solution of staying sober in the summer for others.

#11 Carry Support
Gratitude Boosters: Write on ten small pieces of paper things you are grateful for and keep them in your pocket. If you feel bad for a minute, take one out and read it. Also, carry a little Big Book so you can go to the rest room and read until the dark moment passes.

#12 Remember, God will meet you anywhere!

Snow@sobercelebrations.com
561-702-2312

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