I was always very shy and after Pete died

I was always very shy and after Pete died, I found myself what I thought at the time alone with 5 kids, leaving a life where we were very happy and starting a new life with uncertainty. I found that a drink or two and eventually more seemed to make life more tolerable, or so I thought. It led to my life becoming unmanageable. My circle of friends became only those who were drinking partners. Of course I was the last to realize that I had a problem.

There seemed and the time to be many excuses and later I realized NO good reasons. I also found out

Its not how long or how much you consume but what the booze and or pills do to you.

By the grace of God I found and was able to accept the help and support that led to my recovery and for the first time I became a responsible adult and began to take control of my own life.

Now, I live a day at a time, sometimes less than that. I have the steps that led to my recovery here.

If you think you have a problem, you probably do. Try answering the questions on some of these links and make your own decision

One tip that I found very helpful, was to explain to my kids that this is a disease and that you can recover. My older children went to Alateen and some of them continued to go for some time. I am very proud of them as they were able to help other kids who may have had a situation in their family. I continue daily to try and live responsibly and to daily help others which helps keep me sober.

Recovering is a word that I like to keep in the present tense. For me, Keeping sober is a daily and lifelong commitment.
Lest I forget for a moment, I would be right back in that downward spiral.

There is one story in my recovering I would like to share

When I was growing up, I had a favorite Uncle. He was fun, easy to communicate with and his excessive drinking didn't matter to me.

About 1971, I hit my bottom and began take to the program, I heard nothing about my uncle and everytime I brought up his name, the subject was changed. Then one day, my mother told me that he was in the Program. A No No to release that information but she never understood the program anyway. I kept the "secret" but I wondered many times how he was doing. As I was approaching the end of my first year and thinking about celebrating my first anniversary. I told my Sponsor that I wanted my Uncle to speak, by this time he also knew that I was in. She suggested (she never told me, only suggestions) that I call him and the worst he could do was say No. I called him and he didn't seem surprised at all that my mother had told me, all he said was, Where and When, I'll be there, You see, It was His Anniversary Too! We agreed not to ask my parents. From that day on until the day he died, we had such a special relationship.