I came back from rehab family weekend excited to jump right in to Al-Anon. But I can see how easy it would be for me to dismiss it. I’m busy. You know how that goes. And I think I’m tempted to slip back into denial. “I don’t have a heroin addict in my house if no one in my house is using heroin.” This is the lie my brain wants to adopt. The temptation to roll with that theory is very strong. I better get my butt to a meeting before this week is done.
If you are out there reading this…if you are an Al-Anon person…did it take you awhile to get plugged in and add this to your schedule? I wish someone would call me and say “come on, we’re going!” Argh.
One Mom Talking: The ongoing story of one mom, three teens, and heroin. 
I thought I would attend one a month or so – I’ve been going to about two a week since last October.
Thanks for the comment, Recoveryboy. I have not gone yet — and I promised to go once a week, so i better get in gear! Would you be willing to tell us a bit about what you’ve gotten out of your involvement with Al-Anon — what has kept you coming back so frequently?
Hi, Kay. They say “in the beginning”, you should try to go to as many different meetings as you can. Each group has its own personality and “feel”. I’ve tried many different meetings, but keep going back to my original Saturday morning group. I ALWAYS think I don’t have time for it, and am ALWAYS glad I made the effort to go when I went. I do get a lot of support and encouragement at these meetings, even though things are not going well for my daughter. And, I discovered that I also have something to offer – which feels very good and is part of our own recovery.
Still trying to figure out the technical details of my blog – categories, tags, etc. I have some background info to post, but am afraid it’s too long. Is it better to keep posts short?
Peg, I don’t think you have to keep them short. That’s a Twitter thing. I think that here, you can write as much as you want…like a journal.
I’ve been writing blog post memoirs about living with an alcoholic and these things alcoholism stories kept coming up. My ex-husband was a drug user and is now into AA. I still have to deal with one of my sons who is taking drugs to deal with severe back pain and ADHD. It’s very worrying for a mother to deal with this stuff. I find that writing about it helps.
I have gone to ten meetings-I go once a week. For me, that’s what and how many it’s taken to get it into my schedule. I now look forward to the meetings and I crave them. I know I will feel better when I leave!
I’m still on-again, off-again with meetings. I’m glad you’re participating in them and that they’re helping for you. Thanks for your note!