I may not have gone where I intended to go,
but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
~ Douglas Adams
This quote from Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, a book I've never read, says everything I want to say on this very special day.
Twenty years ago today I made the decision to stop drinking. I have been a grateful recovering member of Alchoholics Anonymous ever since. I have a sponsor. I have a home group. I have a program.
I have a life.
I have serenity.
I have peace.
I may not have the perfect body, but I'm doing all I can to take care of it – quite a turnaround from my years of eating dinner at happy hour, blacking out for entire weekends and neglecting not just my health, but also my family, my job, my friends and my God.
He didn't neglect me, however. He brought me back from the edge of darkness. For the past 20 years I have lived in a world where I can reach out instead of push away, give instead of take and appreciate instead of complain. I don't always remember that, and I guess anniversaries pop up every year in order to sit us down and make us remember.
Thank you, God – and AA – for showing me the way to live a great life.
3 comments:
Congratulations, Debbi! You certainly live an exemplary life. You are truly one of the kindest and most thoughtful people I've ever met. You shine, girl!
Elora
Hi! Congratulations on your AA anniversary. I celebrated 19 years in August and am still a meeting maker and a knitter. A blog friend, Vickie, left me your URL and said "You'll LOVE this", referring to your blog. I'm going to read through your archive after writing this comment.
I have talked a lot on my blog about AA recovery and how it impacts my food, eating and virtually every single minute of my life.
I wish you well and will be back to visit. I hope you'll stop in and visit mine as well:
willswimagain.blogspot.com. And again, congratulations on 20 years - awesome:).
How wonderful, Debbi! What grabbed me the most was "I have a life. I have serenity. I have peace." I'm so glad you made your decision and followed through with it every day for 20 years. I'm so happy for you :)
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