Page 14 - AA NEWS JULY 2019

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People changed over the years but always a few familiar faces.
This weekend we didn’t arrive until Saturday and there wasn’t the large number of RV’s as in the past, but the feeling of coming home was as strong as ever. Greetings from many familiar faces and new folks too. There’s a level of comfort to a familiar meeting room (even if it is a gymnasium); the Saturday night steak dinner you can cut with your plastic knife; catching up with life events, happy and not quite so happy; seeing the growth and serenity in others reminding me I have some growth and serenity too. It’s hard to find the words to describe that feeling of ease and comfort that came with me as we pulled out of the parking lot Sunday afternoon.
If you haven’t experienced an AA event such as this, I want to encourage you to do so. I’ve been to 5 International Conventions. Yes, they are large, around 50,000 people. It’s a different feeling, still ease and comfort, when you can’t really go anywhere in the city without seeing name badges of fellow AAs. You can strike up a conversation with anyone and often join new friends for a meal who were strangers just minutes ago. For me, it’s a safe way to explore a new area and I’m surrounded by so many friends (some who I haven’t met yet) that I have no concern over getting lost or being alone.
There are no words to describe the feeling of holding hands and saying a prayer with over 50,000 fellow alcoholics, try it, you might like it!
Marilyn A Yuma, AZ
Breaking the Cycle of Alcoholism
Early in my first marriage I could easily rationalize all my alcoholic behaviors. These things meant nothing to me, at the time, but that all changed the day that I became a father. It didn’t change my behavior, but it did affect my conscience. From that day forward I felt guilty about my inability to be a good father and as the result, my only son developed problems as bad as, or worse than mine. My wife and I separated and were divorced within two years of his birth and I got sober one year after that and have been sober ever since. My current wife of forty eight years and I have done everything we could to be supportive of my first wife and my son from a distance and as he turned ten years old, she asked us if we would take custody of him, since she was still having difficulties of her own and we understood and gladly accepted her offer. This was the right thing to do but it didn’t solve my son’s problem. He was damaged and the die was cast. He struggled with drugs and alcohol problems into his late forties and is now in the program, sober for seven years and doing well. From this experience and from the observation of the newer members that come to us during a divorce or a marriage influenced by alcohol or drugs, the children are often emotionally damaged and have very little chance of evolving into healthy adults. Some of the symptoms I’ve read about are as follows: Children of alcoholics endure chronic and extreme levels of tension and
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