[retteacher]

Charlee: Congratulations in advance on the 8 month mark. That's very big. Both my husb & I are of Italian heritage & have visited his family (in Sicily) twice. It was truly memorable & hope your trip will be too.

Everyone: I'm doing well AF. It feels good to be concentrating on other things than drinking. I forgot how much time & energy the drinking ritual took...especially obssessive because I did it alone. Now, however, I concentrate on reaching out of my comfort zone & exploring areas of myself that I kept muffled by AL.

I feel especially grateful today, because my g-sons just called from their vacation cottage at the Cape. They miss us. I realize that I could NEVER have the relationship w/them that I have if I was drinking heavily. Their other set of g-parents are great people but are functional alcoholics. There is very little room in their lives for anything other than staying home & drinking.

If there are any of you out there that are struggling (old or new members), please do not give up hope. Keep coming here. You'll be ready to reach your goal (mod/abs) at some point.

Mary