Patience

My home group is celebrating its tenth year anniversary in the morning. I've been a member for the past five years.  For the first three and a half years I attended this open meeting as an Alanon and CoDA member.  For the past eighteen months I have stayed sober and free of mind altering chemicals.

A month or so ago I had a day of retreat at my priests out of town home.  Late in the day we celebrated Eucharist with pieces of home made bread and a chalice.  I have been dipping my wafer at church but with a soft piece of bread, opted to take a swallow.  On other occasions at someone's home it has been filled with juice so I didn't give it much thought.  Anyway, I took a generous gulp of wine.

Hmm, I thought on the ride home, maybe I can switch back to that. I had stopped drinking from the chalice the previous year when I realized it was triggering the phenomena of craving.  That was when cautious drinking began resembling controlled drinking.

I still dip my wafer instead of sipping from the chalice.  But that incident lead to a couple different thoughts and some nosiness into my sons drinking.  Ahh, the disease baffling and all powerful. And patient.

But I am also patient. That's what's good about today.