11 years sober today!

[Guest Rachel Gia]

The heading says some of it but the fact that it is Mother's Day is and I got sober on Mother"s Day 11 years ago kind of hits home for me.

At this time in the morning 11 years ago I was wandering around the house lost in what to do after maybe 3 hours sleep and a fresh impaired charge. My Mother was upstairs in the room that is now empty and my life was about to change in 'oh so many ways' as I had decided to give AA a try at around 330 AM that morning.

I fired up the computer and started looking for lawyers who handled impaired driving cases and found one who was a client of the courier company I worked for and phoned and left a message. Later when AA opened, I phoned and they told me about a meeting in my area and I committed to going. It was at night so I had a long time to wait.

I had no hangover as all the events of the night before had taken care of that, as per being put in a holding cell at the Canadian Border after being zapped strapped outside, blowing over, a 70 dollar cab ride from Point Roberts Washington to Kits in Vancouver, and an uncontrollable mind rehashing my entire drinking life leading up to that night.

Anyways I went to the meeting which was for newcomers and stayed for the following meeting afterwards.

While waiting for my first meeting to start I met a few people who would later become friends and learned how it felt to be safe in a place with people who were like me.

I was still closeted as trans other than my wife, mother, and brother so the conversations before the meeting started were a little exclusionary for me as per the possibilities of "banging AA chicks" ( not sure if that will be censored ). Oddly enough I stayed sober since that meeting but the people engaged in that conversation have had spotty sobriety since we all became 'Friends of Bill'.

I am not sure why I was able to keep my sobriety for the last 11 years but I am sure the fact that I liked meetings had a lot to do with it. It was the only place I felt safe in those days and I planned where and when I was going to attend a meeting from the directory I had purchased and I have had a sponsor of one type or another since my first night in AA.

I will be frank here and will say that some of the people in AA are incredibly annoying and verbose but l am sure they are part of my sobriety too and the next week one of those people said "Don't Read the Big Book Alone!" after gassing on for 15 minutes.

The next day I became part of a Big Book Study and that book is my center for all this.

My bottom was my turnaround in life and I hold on to it and my chair in AA.

This last year has been amazing as per transitioning with AA giving me a safe space to come out of the closet as trans and that eased the way to come out at work and in life as a whole.

I have been part of and hosted many newcomer groups and feel that being vulnerable and expressing that vulnerability to others is a secret weapon in our sobriety.

Much Love!

Rachel Gia

 

 

 

 

 

[Charlize]

Congratulations Rachel and thank you for sharing your journey with us!!!!!!!!!!!+1

 

Like you i feel grateful for finding sobriety and a safe place where sharing about things i held as secrets was allowed and actually helped others to find relief from the shame and  fear they may have felt for a lifetime.  At times annoying but as you said it's all helped me find peace with myself and others!

 

Charlize

[Jani]

Congratulations Rachel and thank you for making that change in your life.  Otherwise we would have never met you.  And that would have been sad as you are a wonderful person.  <<hugs>>

 

Jani

 

[Guest Rachel Gia]

Hugs to you all as well

[Timber Wolf]

Congratulations Rachel! That's great!

 

Lots of love,

Timber Wolf?

[Guest]

Hi Rachel!

I had gone to AA meetings many years ago but concluded that the smokers were going to be the death of me. I know they don't smoke indoors anymore and that there are non-smoker AA meetings now. Back then I quit, bought the big book, took it home and read the entire thing. I found that whenever I'd weaken I'd re-read chapter 5 it was like getting a tune-up. Another aspect of alcohol consumption that drove me to quit was the fact that it depletes certain elements from the system and I'd get huge charlie horses and muscle cramps in various places on hormones while using alcohol. It doesn't take long to make a rational decision and quit one or the other.

[Charlize]

Marci that's great.  If there had been smoking when i went to my first meeting i may have stayed.  Tobacco was one of my addictions.  That being said i'm glad i stayed after my first meeting.  I've found more than sobriety in the rooms as if that hasn't been enough! 

The big book has been a wonderful help to hundreds of thousands of alcoholics.  The US 

Library of Congress has classified it as one of the most important books of all time.  It has certainly helped me.  I go to a big book study(trans) meeting every Saturday night.  

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

[BrownMason]

Congratulations Rachel! I`m really happy for you. 

[Guest Rachel Gia]

Thank you everyone!

I am lucky that I have found it easy to reach out and be vulnerable at the same time.

Being vulnerable may leave us open for attack by sick people but we get better while they stay sick.

Rachel