AA Friendships

The higher one goes, the further one can see…….

The meeting today was good, better than usual since we had newcomers……I think a meeting with newcomers brings out the best in us.  We trot out the book and the steps, and mind our manners.   One lady was 12 hours sober, and thinks she may be an alcolholic; I hope she heard something that keeps her coming back  Each of us shared a few of the things that grabbed our attention when we came in, and we all expressed the “comaradrie”  was a big factor in our recovery.

It’s hard for me to realize I have friends of almost a quarter of a century, just because I stay sober and go to meetings. My friend Darcie is moving, I never thought she would..She is leaving her little house on the way home from my meeting, and moving hundreds of miles away.  Like most of us who work the steps and use our lives to help others, she has grown up, and is going home.   I am happy for the aging parents who will get to know the daughter she has become, and I can see her running errands for them and popping in and out of their home, doing good deeds.  But the odd part is, even in my sadness for losing her physical presence, I am celebrating the birth of this new stage in her life.  This “loving daughter ” stuff we blew off while drinking. As we learned to toddle around life together almost 25 years ago, we took turns holding each other up.  It is a sobriety sister thing, I don’t think it comes easy for most folks, our pride and fear get in the way; but in AA it blossoms.  I was blessed to be a big part of my Mothers life before she died, she knew her oldest child was safe and well.  That was the only gift she ever wanted from me……… To know that my friend Darcie will be at one with her parents, be of service and be loved as the beautiful person she is today, it’s a gift..