Well, today is my 6 month AA birthday (6 mos. since my last drink of alcohol). [img]images/icons/grin.gif" border="0[/img] <p>My plan A has included:<p>1. Stopped Drinking
2. Stopped Smoking
3. Lost 75 lbs.
4. Work out 3-4X/wk.
5. No LB's
6. God is back in my life
7. Diamonds, flowers, chocolates, Romantic dinners/dates, meeting WS's needs for Conversation, Affection(not SF - thats for me [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] ), and Admiration. These are the top 3 as best as I can guess.<p>This 'adventure' has made me more confident, more relaxed, and more attractive (I hope)!<p>Thank you all for sharing your lives, emotions, and heartache on this forum. It really does help long time lurkers like myself.<p>My W has DEFINATELY seen these changes, but still thinks her EA was not that serious and continues contact with OM. I was hoping by now she would see that even if her 'freindship' with OM is only that (a friendship), she would still end the contact if for no other reason than for my benefit. Isn't that what love is about? Not hurting the one you love. Oh well, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change".<p>Thanks again to all - you are all in my prayers [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img] <p>Gib<p>[ April 12, 2002: Message edited by: Gibby1 ]</p>

Congratulations of 6 months of sobriety!! Way to go! Sounds like you're doing great- keep it up!

Congratulations on improving yourself and making yourself a better person!!

Gib,
Wow, great work. You've really accomplished a lot in only 6 months. I'm a member of AlAnon. My WH is an active alcoholic/addict who was sober for almost 10 years before losing his sobriety.<p>I know in my case, I want everything to change overnight, but it took a long time to develop these problems of ours and it will take longer than we would like to recover from them.<p>Keep up the good work. Sounds like you know what's your business and what's your wife's business. Just knowing that is the basis of all recovery.

CONGRADULATIONS GIBBY1<p>Keep comming back as thet say! Stick around long enough for the miracles to happen. <p>I am sober member of AA for almost 10 years. My WH went to treatment and stayed sober for a while, but went back out after a couple of years. All this is intertwined with his A's. <p>It may take a while for W to really beleive the changes will last. 6 months is great but it really takes committed action for years to truly clear the wreckage of the past and build a new foundation based on spirituality. At 6 month you don't know what you don't know. If I had gotten everything I dreamed of in the beginning of sobriety, I would have sold myself short. <p>Alcoholism is a scary disease to live with, there are so many who go back out after even long periods of sobriety. Alcohol is cunning, bafling and powerful. We have a daily repreive based upon our spiritual condition - so, how's your spiritual condition?<p>my intention is not to burst your bubble, just know that it won't be overnight for you to become to person you want to be, and for your W to truly believe in you. If it were me, I would still be cautious. <p>Your post has me thinking though, that I really have had EA's in the past (long ago) while H drank. And I've been feeling so self rightious. I didn't think I was doing anything wrong at the time. My H didn't pay much attention to me, we didn't really talk. I developed friendships with men & shared personal things with them, flirted and basically gave of myself to them and not my H.I never had PA. I can't even say that I've been perfect since being sober. I had an EA early on.<p>I can say that AA has changed my life, and I am grateful that I have such great support both in AA meetings and on these boards.
[img]images/icons/grin.gif" border="0[/img]

Thanks eveyone for the good wishes and congrats. Sometimes these last 6 mos. have passed by in a blink...........other times those months have dragged unbelievably slow. Slow times = painful times, faster times = joyful times. Simple I know, but accurate for me.<p>LetsTry: I've heard stories from some with long times of sobriety and then falter. How disappointing. It is a disease that we have, but that disease should never be confused with the 'choice' to feed it.
And yes, the most important thing I've learned is "keeping my side of the street clean".<p>WGTT: Thank you for your 10 year sobriety wisdom! I think it will be a continuous association (meetings) with people like yourself that will help me keep the proper perspective.<p>Any other AA/Alanon folk out there? Anyone maybe considering it? This forum has helped me and I hope it will help all the others.<p>Gib

Recovery is accomplished one day at a time Gibby!<p>*****YOU ROCK!*****<p>Pepper [img]images/icons/cool.gif" border="0[/img]

Thanks Pepper [img]images/icons/cool.gif" border="0[/img] !!!<p>We all can 'ROCK' if we choose too!!<p>Gib