Al-Anon Lifer

Anonymous sharings from a long-time member of Al-Anon, which is a safe place to recover from the effects of alcoholism in a friend or relative...

Monday, March 01, 2010

It's March!!

I made it through February, which to me is the darkest month of the year. It has less to do with being the dead of winter than with being the month my life changed as a child, when my parents got divorced and we left our house for good. I figured this out a few years back through therapy, so now I'm hypervigilant about taking care of myself every February. And this year, I didn't get depressed!

Although I did get a bit insane towards the end there with obsessive thinking, arguing with my blood father in my head after deciding to contact him and invite him for a visit, to which he has not replied. Then I remembered that I could ask the God of my understanding to take that stinking thinking away from me.

I also did the footwork by writing out a fourth step, and you know what? The next morning I woke up happy. And yesterday I forgot to worry about opening my email should an angry letter be waiting for me. You see, I had invited him but with a couple of boundaries, ones that I needed to establish to take care of me, ones that may have upset him.

From his past behavior, when not getting his way has kept him away, I can make all kinds of assumptions about his current state of mind... however, I haven't seen him for ten years and have had very little contact, so I have no way of knowing how he's reacting now. I can only know myself, and even that can be tough at times.

So I've decided to really give the results to God. My goal in this exercise has been my own serenity. It wasn't working for me to emotionally divorce my blood father, to be totally unwilling to see him. But now that I've made contact and been as civil as one can be while putting my needs first, I know I've done what I can do, for now. Just for today.

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2 Comments:

At Wednesday, March 03, 2010 9:10:00 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Making plans and not planning results is such a freeing practice for me. Not easy, but simple.. :-D

I will be thinking of you.

namaste

 
At Thursday, March 04, 2010 1:24:00 PM, Blogger Tari said...

I always find the months of January and February to be challenging. The new year comes in the darkest time and coldest weather. My birthday comes in March. Between January and March I am often hard on myself, full of doubt, and disappointment.

Facing a parent who has been absent, and the cause of bad things in the past is not easy for me either. You are smart to set boundaries for yourself. I hope you don't compromise them for your father's sake. Good luck with letting go, and letting your HP guide you at this time.

 

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