I want a positive note here as well.  You do find AA, Al-Anon, Ala-teen, tots in many places not just churches as I mentioned above.  Our meetings that I attend are in church but there is Club12 for everyone.  A closed meeting is for the alcoholic only but finding meetings of every kind is out there.  Here our United Way has all the information with our local phone number of 211.

Over the 4th of July there a hundreds of picnics going on here in San Antonio and all over the country.  Mixed meetings can be fun even though we talk about serious issues.  There is also laughter as we learn to ease our stress and yes in time laugh again.

Divorce is so sad for the children and I remember my first divorce.  I was grateful enough to have learned the things I did as it helped me talk to my liittle one.  My daughter was a baby when we dovorced but I was always able to tell them their Dad loved them and that he was sick and did not mean them any harm. 

It takes time, it takes naked honesty but when a 12 step program is available it can make your life better just one day at a time.

A family outing with people in 12 steps programs may just be what the doctor ordered.  Check your phone book, the 211 in your county.  The AA book can be bought anywhere.  There have been programs and there still are programs that have popped up due to AA.  There is even Overeater’s Anonymous.

I’ve said what I feel could help and I will be happy to answer an e-mail for somebody wanting to go to a 12 step program.

God Bless You

This thread could really help people and I think that was Dean’s sincere attempt to do that.  It was with others and certainly myself.  I would like to see this conversation be posted with the helpful things it set out to do.

It was just one of many things I hated, on top of everything else. Add that on top of a full time job on the midnight shift, a part time job, and the way it all robbed me of the quality time with my kids that I really wanted and I was miserable. Make of it what you will; some of us value that stuff more than others, and some of us are lucky enough to go through college without it being an issue for them.

Learning styles are different for everybody, which is something those who prefer classroom style learning often seem to have a tough time understanding.

Regarding me putting personal stuff online: yes, we’ve always been fairly open about our personal lives. Both of us. We mostly stopped, with only a few lapses, since November.

I don’t mind keeping some personal business online, but accusations get to be a problematic, because an accusation all but demands a response. I really didn’t think I’d made any accusations above, and I apologize for anything that came off like an accusation. All I was trying to explain was that there was severe stress in my life, and a lot going on involving more than four years of full time school, a midnight-shift job, efforts to turn the blog into a business, health issues, and more. It all adds up to a difficult period, and I don’t mean to accuse anyone of anything.

My friday meetings are open to all.  There are teens there and little kids and it is a great way to raisse a family.  Here in San Antonio we even have what we call Club 12 for families.  There are meeetings going on all day everyday 365 days a year.

I’m now working on my grandson.  He is just 20 years old and is an alcoholic.  He went to a treatment center last year and his family on his fathers side thinks he can just get tough and quit.  My grandson called me earlier this week and was drunk but asking for help.  I was and am grateful I have this program as it will eventually help him.  I leave messages with him that I am available to take him to a meeting.

The last thing I would like to say is that the whole family does suffer and there is help out there.  This thread I hope will continue with respect to help others suffering whether it is the family of the alcoholic or the alcoholic.  Give Al-Anon a try, or other meetings that are open.  Churches all over the country have meetings.

AA is not the answer for everybody.
 

God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I can not change…Courage to change the things I can and the Wisdom to know the Difference.