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.
In my years in Alanon I have seen a lot of outside changes. The emancipation of women, for example.
I saw this clearly- in the life of my mum. She left home the day after our youngest brother left school- and she crafted a life and a career for herself.
This week i had 100% quality time with our oldest old timer in Alanon. I took her a gift and we talked 19 to the dozen. There is very little superficial conversation in Alanon- as we get into it... lots of us have been through a long trail together!
One thing OT always said to me- when our son was born we went to the local blossom festival 5 day later. So I had this tiny baby strapped to my chest in a front-pack. At he time this seemed shocking to OT. She always mentioned this...
...I talked her through this... we talked about the way women went into a maternity home for two weeks- at the time I was born. The father was allowed to visit on a Tuesday- for 30 minutes only.
The cynic in me used to believe that this confinement was designed- so that women would not get pregnant again in the first two weeks!
My picture of fathers and families is that dads used to booze up with their mates- to celebrate the new birth- and would turn up- very bleary eyed at the appointed time on Tuesday.
Our OT is extremely sensitive and intelligent. A real bright spark. She could see where I was coming from. There was not need for me to carry that ounce of shame for exposing our son to all the diseases of the world.
...