Just for today....I will be grateful for my sobriety. When I play the tape alllllllll the way back, I can see how fortunate I am to be one of the "chosen few". Everyone doesn't have the opportunity to live in recovery; some suffer in their addicition and unfortunately, don't make it.

Last night, I had the pleasure of hearing one of the "old-timers" in AA, share his experience, strength & hope, celebrating 31 yrs of sobriety. I'ts an honor to share membership with him at the same homegroup. He is well known where I live throughout the AA community. As I sat and observed him while he was speaking, I admired his confident stature. Yet, he is a very humble man.

While he was speaking, we looked in awe as he announced his sobriety date...1977. Wow! What an Blessing. As he gave a brief overview of his life as a child, and touched based on a few events in his adulthood, he began to speak of how he dranked. Looking at him now, it doesn't seem like he had a drink in his life. It was amazing to hear how the same disease I have, caused chaos in his life as well. Different decade, yet same pain. Different gender, yet same pain. Different drink of choice, yet same pain.

Alcoholism is amazing how it affects individuals differently. We all may have gone down different roads and experienced far different consequences, but there is one thing we all have in common; the pain we suffer when we're caught up in the madness. As I listened to my friend sharing with us how he has reached this point in his life, his words were very simple; one day at a time. He reinterated that he has overcome many trials, but is not perfect today byfar. For sure, none of us are. He further shared some of his "character defects" that he continually works on improving. I can relate because I work hard on mine also.

Of course, with his years of sobriety, a 30 minute speech was not merely enough time to hear everything he has made it through; no amount of time is. It would probably take for him to write a book to tell it all. When a person is the speaker at a meeting, you have to be clever in compacting your story, sharing important highlights.

This is also my anniversary month; 3yrs on 3/12. Since my fellow group member and I share the same homegroup and anniversaries in the same month, we both received our sobriety coins. It was truly an honor to be recognized along with my dear friend.

So, for just for today, I have unmeasurable gratitude for being sober. Today, I have a lot of hope that replaces the despair in my past. Three years may not be a long time to some, but it's a long time since my last drink, and for that, I am grateful.