I wandered into a chat room and was looking at the top of the screen where it says "topic" and was then thinking how people come in and ask "whats the topic?" which led me to thinking, gee wouldn't it be fun to have a "today's topic" every day. So then I opened up my ODAT to July 16 and started reading. Really like that page, makes me think of how important it is to focus on self to find out why I do/think what I do/think. In the Today's Reminder on that page it says, "Correcting my own shortcomings will improve matters for everyone concerned." Wow! Yup, sure does. Have seen that happen in my own homelife here. It talks about taking your OWN inventory rather than others. And another line (which irritates me hahaha)..."...we, too, are immature individuals that we are attracted to alcoholics as marriage partners - a sort of child-calling-to-child." Grrrr. Well, even if its true, doesn't mean I have to like it, huh? LOL Kinda hits me the same way being told I was "sick" hit me when I first came to Al-Anon, but that was true too. So what can I do about it??? I can learn. I can study the steps. I can take my own inventory and see what I need to change to help me mature and become a healthy adult. I know I had the beginnings of being a healthy adult at one point, but obviously there were issues (experiences) I'd gone through growing up which I never examined before, things that had hurt me to where when I heard hubby talking about the same kind of hurt, my "child" grabbed ahold and related and here we are today married. hahaha I'm on Step 4 (still) and have been looking at those issues. Wow! Amazing to see how it did affect me. Gonna close this share with one of my favorite poems....

COMES THE DAWN

After a while you learn the subtle difference
between holding a hand and chaining a soul
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
and company doesn't always mean security.

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises
And you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead with the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child.

And you learn to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans. And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much. So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure,
that you really are strong, and you really have worth.

And you learn and you learn
with every goodbye, you learn.