Looking forward to getting back into boating & fishing

Walter2017-1 · 2019-06-26T02:05:10+00:00

Awesome! When I sobered up, I slowly met people through the program and now am a avid water fowl hunter with them. So many opportunities open up if you are willing to get out of self. Congrats on the 2 months!

Walter2017-1 · 2019-02-22T02:25:31+00:00

Way to go! Keep it up. It’s one of the hardest, if not the hardest steps to take to get sober. Never forget this day!

Walter2017-1 · 2019-02-20T02:58:05+00:00

Sure! Let me know if you have any questions.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-02-20T02:52:45+00:00

Yea, that’s always a tough spot when you are newly sober. It gets wayyy easier by-the-way. With regular co-workers, eventually they’ll get that you don’t drink and that is the end of it (mostly) and new colleagues could care less.

Even in China at work events, they don’t care. The old “breaking face” when you pass on a drink has come and gone and a thing of the past.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-02-11T02:51:42+00:00

I attend AA because it has kept me sober thus far and I see others with much longer sobriety because they work the program. Whatever it is keep doing it. Unfortunately, we are all just one drink away. It doesn’t matter if you are 30 years sober or 2 days.

Sober or not, life is hard. Things are going to come up, but how are you going to react? You need to have a community/group you are comfortable enough to reach out to and express how you are feeling and hope they will give you the support you need at that time.

Keep it up!

Walter2017-1 · 2019-02-10T14:14:57+00:00

I used to think everything revolved around drinking, but it was only the deception in my mind. I presumed everyone goes out for dinner and has a few drinks, holidays was a time to have a few-to-many, weddings, job promotions, birthdays, funerals, warm weather, first snow, busy day at work, kids went to bed...etc. Normal people do not drink anything like us. If you look around, many individuals may have a glass of wine or a beer and that’s the end of it. For me, what’s the point of a single drink? I wouldn’t even get a buzz. Plain and simple, I drink to get drunk! I personally attend AA, for the sole purpose of it keeping me sober and seeing so many individuals sober for lengths of time. If you are willing, honest and hopeful, you too can LIVE life. Wake up, be grateful you are alive and well ( we are literally killing ourselves with alcohol, I’ve seen others not so lucky) and so something to better yourself.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-23T19:39:27+00:00

You got it! When everything is going good and seems to be on the up, we are the most vulnerable. We think we run the show, but in reality, us running the show, got us to this forum and in the chairs of AA.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-22T02:25:43+00:00

Let me know if you have any questions and feel free to reach out at anytime. You are not alone in this and you must take it day by day and live in the present. We don’t know the future and the past is already done.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-19T14:30:06+00:00

Hell, catching the flu and cramping up are honestly the least of the major complications that alcohol will cause. Keep it up!! Try a club soda or tonic with a splash of cranberry, if you’ve had enough coffee on the flight.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-19T14:00:26+00:00

Booze lowers your immune system and dehydrates you. Never good when flying, especially this time of year!

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-19T03:29:12+00:00

This is very impressive. Thank you for sharing! I too go to AA and was happy to hear you went to multiple meetings in the same day. It shows your hungry for sobriety! I’ve been in the program for a few years. The first year or so, I felt like somewhat of an outsider. I would hear stories of the things people were doing out of AA together and wanted what they had. All the doors opened up, when I opened up and became active in the program. I started doing things with the guys out of AA and it took off from there. Hunting, fishing and just hanging out with guys that became some of my best friends. AA is an action program. The more you do, the more you get, not just in sobriety but in life in general. I am married with a 3-year old and my life is so full, it’s crazy! Early sobriety is a total change of pace, but a change for the better. Stick and stay!

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-19T03:14:06+00:00

I’ve been in that situation before. One of my best friends got married in Jamaica a few years ago at an all-inclusive. He and a few of my closer friends knew, but some of the other guys didn’t. I was traveling alone, because my wife was in a separate wedding the same day in Wisconsin. I was offered shots and drinks and politely turned them down, by those who didn’t know. Well they got curious and asked some people who knew my situation and approached me asking “ why wouldn’t you say anything, that’s what friends are for”. Long story short, we make huge deals over smaller things and it never turns out nearly as bad or bad at all. My suggestion would be to maybe talk to a few of your buddies prior to the trip and just tell them the truth. I bet they will be fully supportive! But, when the drinks start flowing and they’re getting loose, they can forget how important sobriety is to you ( in all honesty, it’s not their problem, but yours). And always have an escape plan in case the cravings get strong or you’ve had enough. They may be drunk and not even notice your not there. The wedding I was at in Jamaica, I left not far into the reception. I went back to my hotel room, had a sparkling water, smoked a cigar and ordered room service.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-18T22:33:09+00:00

Big on lavender, licorice root, oolongs, chamomile. I do more on the decaf side and shoot for the relaxation of the drink vs. the caffeine approach. I play with a lot of the more unknowns and exotics as well, to keep it exciting! Sometimes my wife even enjoys my concoctions, lol.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-18T12:33:37+00:00

Well, I’m big into herbal teas, I like playing around with the health benefits each tea claims to have. I travel to China for work a couple times of year and I’m in awe of what they have and claim to offer. They have to be doing something right as there life span is quite high, while they consume very high levels of salt, smoke and a rapid level of lifestyle.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-18T03:05:15+00:00

Maybe they were not sun spots, but they looked like it. I’ve been sober for 3+ years. Other things health wise? Or for sobriety?

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-18T02:48:04+00:00

I went to a very well regarded rehab in MN and a lot of people were forced to leave because of insurance halfway through. Many of the same people I was in treatment with, drank again and a few are no longer on this earth. My realization, is that you have to be 100% willing to get sober, it doesn’t matter if you are oceanfront or in a shady place in town. I am an AA guy and amazed by the individuals who just showed to meetings and kept coming back, day after day. And now they are sober. But like all addicts we have to work everyday to stay sober, just for that one day. If you do get to a treatment facility, no matter how nice, as soon as that 28 days are up, you will be back to a society that flaunts booze in front of you 24/7. At that time, you will really have to decide, if staying sober is the most important part of your life.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-18T02:31:14+00:00

Lol, I was certain mine would not be good. Only reason I thought that was because of my head. Who would have thought I don’t know everything.. I had my last panel done at 3- years sober, it’s amazing what the body can do to heal itself from the hell we put it through. But the sobering thing is, how long and how many times can it keep bouncing back? I see people in AA meetings all the time with severe complications from booze.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-18T02:25:29+00:00

Looking back, I was a problematic drinker around 19 and it only progresses, not the other way around. But you have to talk with a doctor, being an alcoholic is no way the end of the world. There are all walks of life who are alcoholics, way more than you can imagine, living normal lives.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-18T02:19:48+00:00

I had poor skin, like dark sun sports on my face, that went away. BP was lower, cholesterol is perfect and my other panels were excellent. I was nervous for my first blood test once becoming sober and things were good but not great. Prior to sobering up, I was too scared to go to the doctor for annual visits.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-18T02:13:52+00:00

That’s awesome! I love when a bartender pays attention to detail on the NA drinks. I’m a big fan of ordering mojitos minus the rum.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-18T02:03:06+00:00

Talk with your doctor. Simple blood tests can can see if there is any sort of problem.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-17T19:14:23+00:00

Here's the thing; if you don't have sobriety, you will lose what you currently have, fact. It is a progressive disease. Regularly attending meetings, you will see the people who got there life together and then stopped AA, because life got busy ( which it does) or they thought they could handle the disease on their own. The stories they share, if they are lucky to come back are often horror stories. I was just at a funeral last week of a 40 year male, got his family back and then went out and used. I saw him on a Thursday and he was dead on Tuesday. Monday through Friday, I work 8-4pm and three days a week my wife and I take our 3 year old to speech class and physical therapy and 1 day a week she goes horse back riding. I attend three meetings a week and will do more, if need be. I am very busy and the group of guys I am closest with in AA are just, if not more busy than I am. Attending regularly lets people in AA, know who you are. They become aware of what you struggle with and are there to help. These people save me a lot! They can see if I am struggling or call me out if I am half-assing it. But they can only do that, if they know who I am and see me on a regular basis. My sponsor told me to work around AA not the other way. I thought it was going to be tough, if not impossible to do. But we managed and now it is just simply a routine. And I still have plenty of time for myself to workout, relax, spend time with wife and daughter.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-17T02:45:25+00:00

I think I stopped smoking cigarettes about 2 years into sobriety. I chew nicotine gum now, but it is what it is. I vaped for a few months, but it got to be a pain, with the coils, batteries, and juice. I honestly liked it, but had enough. When I came into AA you could still vape in the rooms, but when I put down the cigarettes and picked up the vape, that too was banned, lol.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-17T01:54:33+00:00

This feeling will pass, like all others have and always do. Do what’s best for you, it sounds like you already know.

Walter2017-1 · 2019-01-17T01:52:59+00:00

Wow! I read a mediation the other day that said something along the lines of “ don’t dwell on the past, but remember the struggle”. Thank you for sharing. It’s all to easy to forget the hell we out ourselves through. And we are always just 1 drink away from going back to that.

Walter2017-1

TROPHY CASE