"One day at a time"

I've been disguising my Thankful Thursday posts lately, but, readers, be assured, I am thankful for soooo many things ;) I realized recently that I have never blogged about a very important part of my life (which I'm extremely thankful for ;) and decided it was about time to share. Plus, last night on Grey's Anatomy (my fav show) Meredith's estranged, alcoholic father came to the hospital to make amends with his daughters- the 9th step in the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous: make direct amends to those you have harmed... That was my cue.

Since January of 2007, I have been attending Al Anon meetings. Al Anon is a support group for people who are affected by the alcoholism of a family member or loved one. Most people would say, "well I'm not the one with the problem, why should I be going to a meeting??" People who live with an alcoholic or have a family member who suffers from alcoholism often become sick themselves. Sick in not so obvious ways. Before Al Anon I allowed my dad's drinking to rob much of my peace and serenity in life; I didn't know how to detach with love so I found myself either resenting and ignoring my father or enabling him to continue his self-destructive behavior; and I, myself, had a slew of character defects, some of which resulted from dealing with (or not dealing with) the negative feelings associated with my dad's disease. Through Al Anon I have learned to have more compassion for my dad, to look inward and take responsibility for my own emotional health, and to live in peace despite whether or not my dad is drinking. I am thankful for this group of people, (despite how crazy this gathering sounds to outsiders), and am thankful that through their love and support I am encouraged to take things "One day at a time" and to "Live and let live".