Today I choose recovery

“We did not choose to become addicts.” Basic Text, p. 3 ––––=–––– When we were growing up, all of us had dreams.  Every child has  heard a relative or neighbor ask, “What do you want to be when  you grow up?”  Even if some of us didn’t have elaborate  dreams of success, most of us dreamed of work, families,  and a future of dignity and respect.  But no one asked, “Do you want  to be a drug addict when you grow up?” We didn’t choose to become addicts, and we cannot choose to  stop being addicts.  We have the disease of addiction.  We are not  responsible for having it, but we are responsible for our recovery.   Having learned that we are sick people and that there is a way of recovery,  we can move away from blaming circumstances—or ourselves— and into living the solution.  We didn’t choose addiction, but we can choose recovery. ––––=–––– Just for today:  I choose recovery.

while you are sitting there judging my life, yours is passing you by!!

does anyone else hate being an alcoholic or addict?

first off, is the stigma attached to the label.
with the exception of those in recovery, the
general public has no conception of what it
feels like to be in our shoes.

next is the constant scrutiny of when we are
going to screw up.
many of our past attempts and failures give
people good reason to be suspicious.

the thing i miss the most is the social aspect.
whether it was the beer at the ball park, or
choosing a wine for dinner, there was something
enticing about drinking for relaxation or just
lessening the inhibitions(shy folks know what i mean)

of course no one misses the final stages of compulsive
drinking; but for those who took a long time to get to
that stage, there are good memories to draw from.

so until someone invents a pill that allows me

to drink or use safely, i will keep those former days as just that; memories.