What do you do? - Al-Anon Family Group

browneyes · Senior Member

What do you do?

Karilynn · ~*Service Worker*~

Brown eyes,

You go girl! That's taking no prisoners.

I allow myself one day off a week where if I don't want to do anything, I don't. Right now I'm lounging around, and football is on (Go Eagles!). It's a bit easier for me to give my self a day off because I don't have children and my A is still in a halfway house. But I work retail and it can be stressful.

If I want to spend the day in bed reading and drinking tea I do it. I always fall asleep to classical music or jazz. The hardest thing for me to learn over the years was that it's okay to let things go for a day or two. I can be a bit obsessive when it comes to chores. I've eased up on that. My place is clean and picked up. I should be washing the sheets, but they'll still be there tomorrow. Unless I have an appointment, I also don't wear my watch. I go with the flow. That one took a little more work. It's my day off. I call them mental health days. I like walking down to the bookstore and have coffee if I have the extra money, and just browse through the cookbooks.

Later, I'll go for a walk even though I walk back and forth to work everyday. It's perfect out.

(Today because it's 9/11, I'll pay my respects to some friends of my fathers who lost their parents in the WTC. I'll call my A because he was in NY on his way to meet a client at the Trade Center. He lost friends too. Thank you God for keeping him safe that day.)

Do what you love to do. It doesn't have to be an expensive hobby, just what you love. It sounds like you are on the right path. We're proud of you!

Live strong,
Karilynn

megan · ~*Service Worker*~

Hi Julie

That is wonderful progress. I like that you have a plan for yourself and your family.

I too squirrelled away money.

Going to school to get a better job to take care of your family is very admirable WAY to GO!

For myself, I am eating better and exercising alot.

I am taking care of me.

I was on a business trip in Canada earlier in the week. I am still in Canada, but on VACACTION by MYSELF.

I hiked for 4 hour yesterday up to a glacier field. Then I mountain biked for an hour.

Today I have already mountain biked this am, took a break for brunch and will head out to mountain bike as soon as my belly settles.

I have travelled ALOT but never took time for ME, allways rushing home to my A.

Good work Julie, I found that learning all I can about alanon has helped me to have a better life.

Diva · ~*Service Worker*~

Hi Julie. Squirreling away the money is very smart. As is continuing your education. Sounds like you have a grip on what needs to be done, and are forging ahead. Good girl!!! With caring, Diva

lin0606 · ~*Service Worker*~

I have let music back into my life - for some reason I stopped listening to it when my marriage started to go bad.
I spend some time outside every day, even when the weather is bad. My spiritual connections with HP seem to come from the sky, and from the trees. When things were bad for me, I never looked up.
Although I have let it slip, I used to do a lot of yoga when my husband was drinking hard. It helped me go to sleep at night, rather than stay awake, wondering where he was.
Don't laugh, but karaoke got me through some bad years - the joy of doing something so fun, so whole hearted, and that I was pretty good at, supported my spirit.
I also have discovered an odd talent I have, for writing trivia quizzes, and am on the administration of an online trivia site. When I was the doormat and the one blamed for everything bad, at home, there I was, and am, respected and even revered. The boost this gave to my self esteem has made a real difference in my life.

For me it has been things like this, things that got me to change my attitude, that have made the most difference.

The material presented here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method to exchange information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal level.