Grateful AA is Everywhere

[madison1101]

I have been visiting my daughter in Michigan for the past two weeks. I live outside of Philadelphia, PA. I am enjoying spending time with my grandchildren, and helping my daughter, who is due to have her third child anyday now. However, I am also grateful that I can attend AA meetings while here. It has given me the opportunity to meet other wonderful recovering alcoholics, and given my daughter the chance to spend some time with her kids, without me around. The kid are 2 and 4 years old, and love having an audience around.

I confess that I take my AA meetings for granted. I have so many meetings available to me within five minutes of my apartment, I should be able to attend a meeting everyday. At home, the local AA clubhouse has four meetings a day. Here, the closest clubhouse, which is 20 minutes away, as opposed to 5 minutes at home, only has one meeting a day, and on Wednesday it's a Men's Only meeting.

What I love about AA is that I can walk into any meeting at home, in Michigan, or Pittsburgh, or Manhattan, and be welcomed warmly. I have gotten something out of every meeting I attended, and never have regretted attending any, either at home, or out of town.

Back when I first attended AA, finding a meeting anywhere was a challenge. I had to call the local Intergroup office, and just be given an address for a meeting. If I was lucky, that meeting would have the local meeting list, and I could then find more meetings. I still persevered back then. I went away for Christmas several years, and managed to make my AA meetings in Chambersburg, PA back then. Now, I just Googled "Lansing, Michigan, AA meetings." From there, I was able to find the meeting schedule.

I hope if anyone is struggling with a drinking problem, they will seriously consider attending an AA meeting. I remember the shame I felt attending my first meeting, not wanting to admit publicly that I had a drinking problem. That is the beauty of AA. Everyone at the meeting has, or had a drinking problem. Everyone at the meeting drank too much, had bad hangovers, and felt ashamed of their drinking. At the meetings I attend, the newcomer is the most important person at the meeting. Plus, the only requirement for AA membership is the desire to stop drinking. PERIOD.

My life has been transformed since I attended AA, and worked the 12 Steps.

Hugs,
Trish

Seek always to do some good, somewhere. Every man has to seek in his own way to realize his true worth. You must give some time to your fellow man. For remember, you don't live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here too.
Albert Schweitzer

 

[RuthD]

Congratulations Trish,
I'm so glad AA has worked wonders in your life. I am thinking about going back to meetings. I could use the fellowship. I do practice the 12 steps still. All the best to you!