whiterose
12-31-2006, 06:49 AM
As some of you may recall, my brother lost his oldest son in a car accident in October 2005. What you may not know is that my brother is an alcoholic. He has been drinking since he was a teenager. He is 50 years old now.
After his son died, I was afraid that would be the end for my brother. I was afraid that he would sink deeper into depression and alcoholism.
Somehow, that did not happen. Instead, about 10 weeks after his son died, my brother stopped drinking. In fact, he received his 1 year token from A.A. last week.
We are all so proud of him and so happy for him and his family. Everything for him has changed. His attitude, primarily. He used to be grouchy and complained ALLLLLLL the time. Now he is positive about life. I see laughter and light in his eyes that I cannot remember ever seeing before. The relationship he has with his wife is completely different now. No more stress and tension. The only attitude he has now is one of gratefulness to God for helping him on this journey to sobriety.
I am a very fortunate person indeed. Our mother has been sober for 23 years now. She became sober at the age of 48 and has lived a very full life since. And now, my brother, at age 50, is sober now too and has a wonderful life ahead of him.
He knows that it is truly "one day at a time." But, oh how wonderful life is for him now.
I just wanted to share my pride with everyone. But, also to post this to give hope to others out there who may be struggling with alcoholism. Two people in my life, one of which drank for over 30 years, have now been able to stop drinking.... both with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, but through the grace of God. And so if it can happen for them, it can happen for anyone.
Tonight is New Year's Eve. A new year begins tomorrow. Please drive safely tonight and appoint a designated driver. And if you think you are drinking too much, you probably are... and consider making a new start for yourself in 2007.
After his son died, I was afraid that would be the end for my brother. I was afraid that he would sink deeper into depression and alcoholism.
Somehow, that did not happen. Instead, about 10 weeks after his son died, my brother stopped drinking. In fact, he received his 1 year token from A.A. last week.
We are all so proud of him and so happy for him and his family. Everything for him has changed. His attitude, primarily. He used to be grouchy and complained ALLLLLLL the time. Now he is positive about life. I see laughter and light in his eyes that I cannot remember ever seeing before. The relationship he has with his wife is completely different now. No more stress and tension. The only attitude he has now is one of gratefulness to God for helping him on this journey to sobriety.
I am a very fortunate person indeed. Our mother has been sober for 23 years now. She became sober at the age of 48 and has lived a very full life since. And now, my brother, at age 50, is sober now too and has a wonderful life ahead of him.
He knows that it is truly "one day at a time." But, oh how wonderful life is for him now.
I just wanted to share my pride with everyone. But, also to post this to give hope to others out there who may be struggling with alcoholism. Two people in my life, one of which drank for over 30 years, have now been able to stop drinking.... both with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, but through the grace of God. And so if it can happen for them, it can happen for anyone.
Tonight is New Year's Eve. A new year begins tomorrow. Please drive safely tonight and appoint a designated driver. And if you think you are drinking too much, you probably are... and consider making a new start for yourself in 2007.