Fieldnotes #2

this time i went to a different type of meeting... this was a lot smaller and was at 9 in the morning on sunday


there are 5 people that have walked in

wonder what step we'll cover today .. one of the guys looks mid-twenties, one looks like he is in highschool, another in his thirties, a lady in her forties, and an old man in the room.

this meeting place is a lot smaller than the last one, has a long conference style table with big black rolling chairs. There is a desk in the corner ...

this must be someones office that they use for this smaller meeting that only some people attend

the old man mutters some stuff and asks who wants to lead the meeting today

hmm i didn't know anyone could lead the meeting

HE JUST ASKED ME IF I WANT TO LEAD THE MEETING.....

ummm? i can't say no, that would be rude, but i really don't want to.... FINE.

i take the big book off of the desk and a paper that says what step to cover.. then start the meeting with the serenity prayer and a paragraph highlighted in chapter 3

hope i don't mess this up.....

now i ask everyone to say their name, why they are here, and how long they have been sober since it's a smaller meeting

i'm anxious to know what this highschooler is doing here already...

the lady in her forties talks about how she keeps relapsing and that she has only been a day sober. she talks about how its effecting her kids very negatively, but she just can't stop because she is so stressed. she talks about how her sponsor is helping her out a lot. i tell her that its okay and that people make mistakes, and that all she can do is try and get better. I then explain to her how i feel about my mom and that if anything happened to her or if she died because of something that she could control i'd be devastated. i told her that i look up to my mom. i also told her that i would be understanding if i was her kid because moms have so much stress and are literally always moving. they never get a break. she keeps thanking me

i feel so good for helping her. i feel like i might have said somethings that will stick...

the highschooler tells us that he was in the car drunk when one of his friends got a dui. he said that his parents are making him go to thirty aa meetings in a month...

damn..... i'd say that's an easy punishment. my parents would kill me!

the old man has been sober for thirty years..

holy crap..... thats what we like to call self control... i couldn't even do it and i'm not an alchy!

the guy in his mid twenties has been arrested and taking to the hospital for drinking.... twice. he was handcuffed to the hospital bed. he said there is nothing worse than waking up to that. he doesn't even remember how he got there or that he hit a tree.

what if he would have killed someone or himself? eeek... scary.... hopefully aa will help him so he doesnt inflict pain on himself or anyone else...

i end the meeting with the ' keep coming back keep coming back, it doesn't work if you don't work it' chant...

this just gets everyone in a feel good mood, including me :)