Today I celebrate 1 Year of SOBRIETY!!!
I have done it by working THE PROGRAM of ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS and remembering that I cannot keep what I do not give away freely!!
I thank my family and friends for their undying support, and my family at my home group the Goliad and Global Steps AAthat happens to meet in the hall of In The Rooms.
That’s what’s in My Rattled Cage, thanks for stopping by!!
Linda has given us the prompt of “list” for today’s #SoCS.
Enjoy this lyric video of For King and Country’s “Never Give Up”.
Yesterday I celebrated 11 months of SOBRIETY because I have never given up. My last drink was on January 3rd, 2020. I have not done it on my own, it has taken a lot of work with my sponsor, attending/chairing/sharing in face to face meetings at my home group the Goliad Group along with service work as the Group Secretary; attending/chairing/sharing in meetings at my online home group Global Steps Alcoholics Anonymous that just happens to meet in the hall of In The Rooms.
But there is also an important list of 12 everyday things that must happen if I am to remain SOBER!
Enjoy this video of For King and Country’s “Control”.
That’s what’s in My Rattled Cage, thanks for stopping by!
Today Linda has given us “sharp” as our prompt for this week’s #SoCS.
When I was younger I would be called sharp as a whip. As I became a teenager I became sharp as a pencil. As I moved through adulthood i was ranging from being sharp as a tack to being as sharp as a double edged sword with my fiery tacky sense of humor at times along with my very sharp tongue.
Today I deal a different type of sharpness. You see I have always been a go-getter especially when it comes to my work ethic. I currently find myself being called sharp in how I work, but I am also being called eager. Eager can be both a positive and a negative meaning that it can definitely be a sharp double edged sword.
The other double edged sword that I have to be very careful with is my recovery. I am very cognoscente that I must not stand still in my recovery, If I do I will be cut by that edge of the sword that cares nothing about me and my recovery.
September is National Recovery Month. We all know I am an open book and I am proud that I am in recovery! The last few years have been a struggle, but I am so proud to say I have 8 months of sobriety today. Unfortunately it took my husband Cruzer having open heart surgery in December of 2019 and me not taking it well for me to really wake up, but I am woke!
I am blessed to have a huge support network in my family, friends and my fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. But it is important to note that the number one thing that I have in my recovery is my Higher Power whom choose to call GOD!
If you know someone who is struggling with any type of addiction please let them know about a really great supplement to face to face meetings. In The Rooms that has meetings all day everyday for almost every type of addiction you can think of. I have a home group online Global Steps AA, that has a total of 64 meetings per week and just happens to meet in the church of In The Rooms!!!
So in order for me to be sure and handle the edge of the sword that does care about my recovery the way that I do, I do some pretty simple steps. I remain sharp as a tack in regards to my character defects coming to the surface and nip them in the bud. I thank my higher power whom I choose to call God every morning for allowing me to wake up and not just come to. I am in constant contact with my sponsor. I am currently working on my 4th step.
I love doing service, in fact I truly believe that in 2016 when I turned 50, the whole reasoning behind my major relapse and then continuing to have issues with relapse and recovery – was because I had gotten mad at folks in my home group the Goliad Group and my online group – and I quit doing any type of service.
You see, I always say, I cannot keep what I do not give away freely!!!!!! That is a true statement if I am doing some sort of service for my fellow alcoholics then I cannot keep my sobriety. Today I chair meetings at my face to face home group and in my online home group. I share in every meeting that I can, because I never know who I will touch with my words of experience, strength and hope.
So as long I continue to work this sharp program of recovery, I WILL REMAIN SHARP AS A TACK!!!!
That’ what’s in MY Rattled Cage, thanks for stopping by!!
This week Linda gave us the prompt of “link” for #SoCS. First of all I need to link my mental being with my writing being so that every Friday I read my email from Linda for #SoCS so that I write it either on Friday or first thing Saturday morning.
This week, I really do have a good excuse for being late. A few weeks ago I began working a new job at the University of the Incarnate Word and I had quit my job at 7-11 with the understanding I could be on call if they needed me on Friday or Saturday nights graveyard. That happened this week. So, Friday afternoon I got off at 5PM and went to bed for 4 1/2 hours and then went to work from 10PM to 6AM, came home and chaired an online meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous from 7AM – 8AM and then went to bed for 12 hours.
The day slipped away and it was not until this morning that I made a link that yesterday was Saturday and I again missed my writing a #SoCS post. I really am working to get better at making sure I link Saturday with writing at least one post, the one that matters – #SoCS.
That being said, I have made a very important link about me and my continued sobriety. I recently started serving as a chairperson of the Beginners meeting at the Goliad Group my home group and I recently got elected as the secretary of the group. I also began serving again as a chairperson for my online home group Global Steps AA that happens to just meet in the church of In The Rooms. I currently have one standing meeting per week that I am the chair of and I humbly accepted when two other chairpersons asked me to sub for them until they are ready to return to their meetings.
The link that I have made is that about a month before my 50th birthday on September 14th , 2016 I stopped doing any type of service work at my home group and my online home group after almost 2 1/2 years of sobriety. Because of this the dynamic of my sobriety changed, I had become prideful and I had lost my humility where it came to my sobriety. Because of this I know for a fact that there is a link between service work and sobriety. the link is this I CAN NOT KEEP WHAT I DO NOT GIVE AWAY FREELY!!!!
Today I know the ANSWER to my continued sobriety is HUMILITY, SELF-LOVE, SERVICE, the suggested program of Alcoholics Anonymous and my HIGHER POWER whom I choose to call God. I wanted to close with an excellent reminder from one of my favorite contemporary Cristian rock artists Jeremy Camp. Please enjoy this video of “The Answer”.
That’s what’s in My Rattled Cage, thanks for stopping by!!!
I apologize for posting this entry for #SoCS for 6/13/20, for which Linda provided the prompt of NAIL on Wednesday 6/17/20, however I have been wanting to write this post but I just did not have a chance to do so until now. A lot happened in the last week that has definitely been a great thing. Since losing my job on May 28th I have been utilizing every job site and even stepped out of my box and applied at 7-11 and Circle K.
Long story short I applied to a local 7-11 franchise store and the owner texted me on Wednesday 6/10 and asked me to come in. I went in on Thursday morning 6/11, they spoke to me for five minutes and then handed me a new hire packet which I brought home and filled out. I returned the packet a little later that morning and that afternoon, I was the schedule for Friday from 8 AM – 4 PM. I did my first day of training on Friday and then Friday I was asked to go in for my normal graveyard shift because someone had called in, and I did. I am adjusting to the new work schedule as well as new sleep schedule while still maintaining my normal activities to ensure I do not allow the proverbial nail of drinking to creep into my mind.
As I often write about the fact that I am and will always be an alcoholic. My being an alcoholic is not the nail in my framework or the proverbial coffin. That nail becomes real if I ever begin to think that I have this disease licked or if I ever determine that I drink like a normal person. If I ever pick up that first drink I will truly be putting that nail into my coffin because, while I may have another drunken bender in me – I do not have another recovery in me and I do I believe that the disease of alcohol will kill me before the HIV/AIDS that I have thriving with, not just surviving with for 23 years or anything else that is within my control.
As long as I am doing the right things – talking to my sponsor, attending both face to face with the Goliad Group or the LAMBDA Group here in San Antonio and online meetings of Global Steps Alcoholics Anonymous on In The Rooms, doing service in those groups by chairing meetings – greeting in meetings – and sharing in meetings, continuing in my Catholic faith and asking my Higher Power whom I choose to call God to help me each day JUST FOR TODAY to help keep me sober and to do HIS WILL and not my own, and thanking my Higher Power at the end of the day for doing so – then I will be able to ensure that the proverbial NAIL of alcoholism and taking that first drink will not come.
So today “No Matter What It Takes” I will do it to ensure that I do not put that proverbial NAIL in any aspect of my life. Please enjoy this lyric video of Jeremy Camp’s No Matter What It Takes.
That’s what’s in My Rattled Cage, thanks for stopping by!!
This weeks prompt from Linda G. Hill for #SoCS is “DEEP”.
When I think of the word deep, I can not help but think of how deep I have been in my alcoholism and cocaine addiction over the last ten years. But along with that, is how much deeper I have gotten into my recovery every time that I have relapsed after losing 2 1/2 years of sobriety on my 50th birthday on September 14, 2016.
Yesterday I celebrated a new 90 days of sobriety. With the COVID-19 pandemic going on, I was not able to pick up a 90 day chip because there are no face 2 face meetings here in San Antonio, Texas or anywhere across the country and in most countries. I will pick one up when my home group opens back up for meetings.
I am really growing in my recovery through attending my online meetings of Global Steps AA which meets in the online recovery meeting place In The Rooms. There is so much deep love and deep support for individuals from all over the globe in my online home group.
It amazes me that today I am working one job, I begin another job on 4/24/20 and I just interviewed again with my beloved The University of Texas at San Antonio for a major position that I would love to have. My husband of 19 years is recovering beautifully form his open heart surgery that was done on 12/17/19 and is working to being his normal self. My staying clean and sober one day at a time is going to push me very deep into my recovery and I see the 9th Step Promises coming true. I am felling bLESSED and HIGHLY Favored because of my deep faith in my Higher Power whom I choose to call God!!
So today, while the song Starting Over by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis does not have deep in the title, it does express where I am and where I am going!!
That’s what’s in My Rattled Cage, thanks for stopping by!!
Throughout every one of my chronic relapses my husband, family and friends often tried to make the case for why I needed to make changes in my live with celerity and to quit dinking and other things if that were the case.
It was not until I decided in the same spirit of celerity that I made the case for me to return to recovery from alcoholism and addiction that I decided again, once and for all to return to face to face meetings and my online video meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous with In The Rooms and Global Steps AA along with getting back to a daily routine of activities that keeps me busy and reminds me that I do not need to drink just for today!!
I know that every day that I do not drink or otherwise is a miracle and I thank God everyday for waking me up. I ask him to help me to remain clean and sober just for the day. At the end of the day I tell him thank you for his assistance in the day!!
Some weekends just fall right into place and everything you do or say is right on time. This weekend was one of those weekends. It has been very cold in San Antonio for the last few days which has given me the chance to work on a couple of things and to celebrate one new very important thing. I write often and say how I am an open book and while I understand that a lot of what I write or even talk about may be a hinderance to my current situation of looking for employment in my field even though I am working with Social Security for Disability.
If does not come through and I must keep fighting or re-apply in a few months – then I must be able bring money into our home. When I am not working, I feel very useless and unproductive because I am not one to truly rely on anybody unless I just must. Unfortunately, over the years because of my depression, bipolar affectation disorder, chronic spine issues and of course my issues of chronic relapse, there have plenty of times that I have had to be totally reliant upon my husband. Mind you, Cruz has been a true angel and savior for me, but I do not like putting that pressure on him.
So back to this last weekend. On Saturday I spent most of the day working on the layout of “My Rattled Cage” and I am in love with the way it looks and the new additions to the site. Sunday, I started off in the “Each One Teach One” video meeting with Global Steps AA on InTheRooms.com, Then I went to 8AM mass at St. Cecilia Catholic Church, which is a every Sunday routine for me. After I attended the “A Spiritual Life” video meeting.
The most important thing that I did was to attend a Closed Meeting with my home group, The Goliad Group to pick up a BRAND-NEW 30-Day Chip. I am truly blessed that I have a meeting place that is less than 10 minutes from my house. I more blessed because no matter how long it takes me to get back to my home group, they always welcome me with open arms. That is the greatest thing about the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, no matter if you are going to a face to face meeting or attending online video meetings – you are always welcomed back and strongly encouraged to “Keep Coming Back, It Works if you Work It!!!”
This morning as I was preparing to write this post, I was searching for a good picture of the Serenity Prayer and I actually found the full version and it just reminded me that yes the promises can come true if you simply work the program and keep your relationship with your Higher Power, whom I choose to call God.
That’s what’s in “My Rattled Cage”, thanks for stopping by!!!
Everyone who knows me, through personal interaction, my different social media outlets and of course those of you that follow this blog, knows that I am an open book. Sometimes I am comedic, serious, emotional, and heartfelt. I feel that I write my best when writing consciously, totally and honestly about anything that I’m writing – especially about my ever-continuous journey in recovery and unfortunate relapses over the years.
So why would today be any different? Since September 14, 2016, the day that I turned 50, the struggle has been real. I cannot even count how many times that I have relapsed and entered back into the fray of recovery. I can say the most definitive date was on my 50th birthday when I threw away 2 1/2 years of being clean and sober. After that, although I had already been working with my psychiatrist and my chemical dependency counselor on my bipolar affectation disorder and my depression, I went into an extremely deep depression that cost me a job that I had returned to after almost 2 years of being gone from The University of Texas at San Antonio where I had previously been employed for six years prior to my addiction and alcoholism costing me that job.
Today, I am extremely pleased to say that once again, I have a new true 30 days of being clean and sober. This time is different because my psychiatrist Dr. Cervando Martinez lit a fire up under my butt. I am currently working with Social Security on an appeal, and he told me that if I do not remain clean and sober while remaining compliant with my medications for my depression and bipolar along with my HIV/AIDS meds (for which I’ve been thriving not just surviving for 22 years), then Social Security will continue to deny my application.
You see my concern is that I not only suffer the above, I have also been suffering from chronic pain in both my lumbar and cervical spine for well over eight years. I obviously cannot venture into prescribed painkillers due to my history with addiction and unfortunately over-the-counter medications do not work.
So right now, on today February 9th, 2019 I say to you my followers that “JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL REAMIN CLEAN AND SOBER!!” You see in a Global Steps Alcoholic Anonymous video meeting this morning on InTheRooms.com I heard the greatest thing, a sharer stated as a matter of fact, “I can’t think about more than 30 minutes ahead.” I will say, that I’m not to that extreme, but I cannot think past today. I cannot think about tomorrow, next week, next month or even the next six months to a year. If I begin to look past the nose on my face towards tomorrow or any other time in the future, I truly am consciously, dishonestly and totally setting myself up for failure and relapse.
I can consciously, honestly and totally say that I know for a fact that my husband and four legged children, are constantly better served and loved when I am not drinking or using. I also know that even though I have all these lifelong health issues, I can remain very productive in my house.
I can also consciously, honestly and totally say unequivocally that the love of my husband and our four-legged children Chrissy, Little Bitty (our grandaughter), Zailey, Sadie and Stichy are the best motivators along with my faith and support of my family within the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous and of course my family in the cities League City, SHore Acres, Seabrook and Texas City, Texas and McDonald, Tennessee.
Here's To Express.. :)
Listen to your inner self..it has all the answers..
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My Rattled Cage - What has me rattled today? 