"The Holidays Are Coming"

Maybe I should say, ‘evil spacepod people are coming!’ There are a few of us out there who would prefer that to the thought of spending the holidays with our families... or alone.

Holidays are hard for a lot of us. Some of us are lucky enough to have family in Recovery. Many aren’t. All too often, the holidays are unhappy reminders of the insanity of our families of origin, the chaos we’ve worked so hard to escape from. Some of us don’t have family to be with, or refuse to be with, or are unwelcome around. Some of us spend our holidays alone.

We don’t have to. Hopefully, where you live is like where I am. There are Alc-athons and Nar-athons--meetings and events happening all day long. My fellowship is holding our regular Thursday night meeting tomorrow, and I will be there for that regardless of whatever else I end up doing during the day. And even if, through some twist of fate, it ended up that I had no place to go for a turkey dinner, I would still have that meeting to go to, and for that I am grateful.

I heard a newcomer share last night that the holidays are particularly hard for folks like us, and he’s right. But they’re hard for others, too. There are many people (perhaps too many) who don't have families or friends to spend these days with. Some are too poor to afford a special dinner, let alone a feast. Gratitude, that's what the program gives us. If we want to, we can suffer alone and be miserable. But if we choose to, we can spend these days with our fellow addicts and alcoholics.

This will be my third holiday season living the clean and sober lifestyle. Each year, it’s gotten a little easier. That's just my experience; I can't promise it will be like that for others. But I am definitely feeling the gratitude for the program. I know many people for whom those holiday meetings are life-savers. For some of us, the fact that we've got a meeting we can go to later is what gives us the strength to get through the day. Having just written that, I find myself laughing a little. So many days are like that--holidays or not.

It’s one of the many benefits of the program--we don’t have to be alone anymore. If you’re on the outs with your family of origin, or in the middle of an ending to your marriage, losing or have lost your kids, spend the holidays with your family of choice. Allow yourself to feel real love from those who really love you.