Grabber Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 March 21, 1987 was the day I joined AA. There is not a day that does not go by that I don’t feel thankful for what God helped me do thru AA. March 21, 2009 = One day at a time.....22 years clean and sober. It’s time to put the 21 year coin in the frame with my others. This frame hangs in the back of my shop and I reflect on it often. Now my 22 year coin will be carried in my pocket every day for the next year to remind me that I’m just one drink away from a drunk. The back of the coin has a very important prayer on it. This prayer has helped me more than you can ever imagine. The Serenity Prayer God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tispco Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Congrats Grabber!! Keep up the great work and keep enjoying life sober. :happy feet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobjshelbys Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Happy 22nd birthday! How's Intel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevhead20 Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Great job, Rob :happy feet: :happy feet: it's quite amazing how one day at a time adds up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vapor08GT500 Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Great work Rob, that is an incredible achievement!!! Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cali_KR Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 WOW, thats outstanding Rob, good for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Saute Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Excellent Rob! Look forward to the next 22!! :happy feet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby65_mustang Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Great Job!! The best thing about being with others and socializing, not drunk, is remember the special times and the fun and not being sick after!! We always have more fun when we don't drink, how true it is, and how blessed we are to meet so many of you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmor Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Congratulations, Grabber! You know, I have one, maybe two drinks per week, and the older I get the worse I feel afterwards. Don't sleep well, etc. You're inspiring me to just quit altogether!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INDYSHELBY Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Congrates Grabber :happy feet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
07SGT4578 Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Congratulations Rob, keep pushin buddy. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRT 0403 Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Hearing news like that is a great way to start my day. Thanks for sharing your celebration with us Grabber! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMcGuirk Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Congrats Rob, God bless you. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shlbylvr Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Congrats Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShowCar Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Grabber, That is great. One day at a time. Pretty soon you will need a bigger frame for the coins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svtkeith Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Congrats Rob...And you're a better man for doing that. :happy feet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YZD263 Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Congrats Rob! Great story! That's quite an achievement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr4teth Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Way to go Grabber!! :happy feet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08 snake Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Congrats Rob way to go :happy feet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted March 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Happy 22nd birthday! How's Intel? New consruction work has gone into a hold pattern at the factory. There was enough work for 10 supervisors like myself to manage. 9 of them got their walking papers. I feel good to still have my job...but very bad for my co-workers. My current assignment will finish in about 3 months. If Intel does not break loose with some work for Q3 I'm not sure where I will be working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted March 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Congratulations, Grabber! You know, I have one, maybe two drinks per week, and the older I get the worse I feel afterwards. Don't sleep well, etc. You're inspiring me to just quit altogether!! I could never have one or two. That's the difference betweeen a social drinker and a alcoholic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NordicShelby Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Congrats Grabber. Like I mentioned before I feel that having 1 or 2 drinks or beers is not a big deal its if you get drunk as a skunk every day then that becomes a big deal. I am curious at what was the turning point in your life to go completely sobor? I know you said you were an alcohlic so I can assume it was a major problem but give us a little more insight at what your life was like before you went to AA. Again Congrats...... Today is my daughters 3rd birthday were having a very special party for our Princess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted March 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 I am curious at what was the turning point in your life to go completely sobor? I know you said you were an alcohlic so I can assume it was a major problem but give us a little more insight at what your life was like before you went to AA. Yes it was a major problem. I’m a recovered alcoholic. I will give you some insight since you asked. By the grace of God, On March 21st 1987 I went to my 1st AA meeting. I have been clean and sober since that day. I was 26 years old at that time and had been drinking since I was 15. I was a heavy pot smoker too, and dabbled in other drugs as well. AA taught me to share my EXPERIENCE, STRENGTH, and HOPE with others. Fellow AA members did this with me, and it turned my life around. They taught me how to put the plug in the jug and live. You are never too old to make changes in your life. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow has not happened, all we have is today. One day at a time is what AA taught me. Sometimes it was 1 hour at a time. The point being, don’t live in the past or the future…..live in the present because that’s all you really have control of. Sorry if this is kind of long, but it is only a tiny fraction of my story. I am going to briefly tell you what it was like and what happened and what it is like now. What it was like :tequila: My drinking started out as a teenager on week ends at age 15. My folks split the sheets when I was 17 and my mom could not handle me. I had my own apartment and a job as a senior in HS. My room mate and I had a kegger on tap in our front room. Get the picture ? I had to do my senior year twice due to my bad grades and drinking, but that was OK with me because Tana was my locker partner and girlfriend. We had met 2 years prior and I had to keep an eye on her. She moved into my apartment with me. We then had a baby when she was 19 and I was 20. After I turned 21, I was on a roll at the bars with my friends. I had a rental home and was supporting my wife and our 2 year old son Chris. Then we had another baby, our daughter Katie. I had to keep working to support them all. I drank heavy every week end with friends and sometimes worked out of town for weeks at a time with a construction crew. I am not sure how I kept a roof over our heads but I did. I did things that I am very ashamed of, and only my AA sponsor (who has passed away), my wife and my close friend Bill know about. Of course God knows about them too. I will not talk about these things anymore to anyone unless it is to help a person in recovery. This extreme partying went on for 5 more years. My friends called me 1 eyed Rob because I would always drive my car with 1 eye shut because I would see 2 of everything if I had both eyes open. I wrecked a few cars and even ran my car into someone’s house. Some how I would always get away and lie about it to the cops and report the cars stolen. My boss would not ever ask me to work a Sat. or Sun. because I would rarely show up. I missed many of my children’s Birthday parties and other events because I was hung over or drinking with my friends. My wife Tana put up with it, and I am not sure why. My last year of drinking I tried quitting several times on my own. I would go a week or 2, and then all hell would break out. I had make up drinking to do! I craved alcohol, and my face would turn reddish color during the craving periods after work. The guilt of what I was doing gave me a huge feeling of loneliness and helplessness that was so over whelming I did not know what to do. I knew I needed help, but I had no health insurance to go to a treatment center. A friend of mine that had 2 DUI’s was sentenced by the court to go to AA meetings and suggested that I go with him one night. So I did. What happened :angel: At my first AA meeting I could relate to some of the folks there. I was young, and so were many of the others. I was given the Big Book of AA to read. They told me to come back, so I did. They asked me if I wanted to be in there “home group”, and I said OK. After a couple months they asked me to help make the coffee before the meetings. I developed a network of clean and sober friends. A couple months later I got a sponsor and began to work the 12 steps of AA. A year later I was asked to be the Treasurer of the St. Johns Group of AA and they gave me the keys to the Church and put me in charge of collections and coffee and opening the place up and getting someone to chair the meeting. I chaired many AA meetings when I could not get someone to do it. I did this for 3 years and then passed the torch to another person in recovery. This service work saved my butt. I started to have money and finished the Carpenters Apprenticeship and built my 1st home myself. I started to get promotions at work. I began to climb the ladder. What they promised me in AA was all coming true. In AA I met my higher power…..God. What it’s like now. :happy feet: My marriage to Tana keeps getting stronger and stronger. I can make goals and see them mature and I have a very comfortable life. I was able to adopt my son David, and he has never had to see me drunk. I am a much better father and husband to my family. People can count on me keeping my word. I have a personal relationship with the Lord, and he gets all the credit for the good works that he has done in me. The last thing I want to tell you about is that the promises keep coming true. Please take another moment to read thru the promises. The AA Promises If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them. Alcoholics Anonymous p83-84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri Leicht Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Awesome Rob! Fantastic. Keep going, God bless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NordicShelby Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Thanks Rob nice story I am really happy for you and your family. I hope your words help someone that might need some help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tob Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 If Intel does not break loose with some work for Q3 I'm not sure where I will be working. Don't you have area union contractors that could use you? Tob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted March 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Don't you have area union contractors that could use you? Tob I'm not looking untill D-day happens...if it happens. I have been with the same company running work for over 20 years now. I will take it one day at a time and just worry about today. That's been working for me so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUFDRAFT Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver08elly Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Congrats grabber, Im on four weeks. Its a pain in the ass but im doin it. At least u were teh same age as me when u started so i know it can be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted March 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Congrats grabber, Im on four weeks. Its a pain in the ass but im doin it. At least u were teh same age as me when u started so i know it can be done. Are you going to meetings and working the program? If not....you are on a dry drunk and it will not work. I have been around long enough to know this. Trust me on that!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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