Made the first step and called the local hotline to make sure the time and place of the meeting (that I found online) that I'd like to attend is still in exhistance. It would be a shame to work up the nerve, get there and discover it switched meeting nights. The all women's meeting is, indeed, at the same time (Thursday at 5:30) and place and only 20 minutes from the house. It's not closed, but I don't think I'll bring my sister . . . I'm thinking that'll be added stress. The man I spoke to on the phone was incredibly nice. He even had a sense of humor. I couldn't help cracking a joke when he explained to me that closed meetings meant only those who identified themselves as Alcoholics could attend them; I replied "Well, I do consider myself an Alcoholic" and he replied "That's great." I know he was just keeping the conversation light but I couldn't help but giggle and ask if it's great that I'm an alcoholic or that I'm aware that I'm an alcoholic. He was totally cool and laughed at the joke too. I'm feeling a little giddy right now. It's been a blessed day for me. It seems every time I get my heart bruised by unfriendliness of the opposite sex (yeah, I'm sensitive and even if I'm not going to pursue a relationship of any kind for a while, it'd be nice to at least have pleasent conversations with someone cute) . . . what was I saying? Oh, yeah, so whenever I'm brushed off a cane spider usually crosses my path shortly after and I consider this a blessing. I'm putting energy out that I just want to love and be a part of a community and then a furry little creature passes by or the kids run to tell me and I catch the creature take him or her home and release him/her into the backyard. They are so beautiful! And have an unexpected docility that I find comforting. So, today I got to catch and release the biggest, most beautiful and vivacious one yet: On my way home I thought to stop by the local salvation army--there was a couch I'd been keeping my eye on, watching the price drop slowly. I'd thought "if it's $100.00 I'm going to buy it. It's meant to be." It's a gorgeous couch; it just has some stains on it, but I can purchase a cover to use until I reupholster it. It'll go perfect with the rest of the furniture I've been buying slowly for my new place (I'll be moving into end of July). So, as you may have guessed, it was marked down to $100.00!
Anyway, I was feeling pretty good whe I got home and after letting Shelly go in the backyard I called the AA hotline and guess what? It didn't hurt.
Thursday should be my first meeting.
One day at a time . . . enjoying the moments . . . Have a beautiful day! Laura
Wonderfull news Laura! :) Glad you found the courage to call. ummm... but we should talk about taking spiders home with you. LOL, just kidding . There are some pretty cool ones out there. I'll show pics of the one I had in my house some day.
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My warranty on tomorrow has run out. My guarantee on the past is void. Nothing is going my way... and I like it like that.
Thanks Bryan and Miller. I'll let you guys know how it goes. In the meantime, I seriously cannot resist the urge to share a few more pictures. When I got home tonight I went out back to play with the dog for a bit and decided to see if I could find the good fortune spider and there he was:
I think this lizards eyes are bigger than his stomach . . . and perhaps his mouth as well . . .
Great job on making that step... be very proud! I hope to hear about how the meeting went for you! - once you get through the door- it's not so scary! That was the hardest thing for me to do. I sat in the parking lot for quite a while trying to think of an excuse not to go in... then I realized that I just had to get in there... everyone was so great and people will come right up to you and talk to you and give you numbers! And about that spider... ummm you should warn me before I see those pics!! I think I am going to have nightmares! haha I don't really see spiders around here and I am happy about that! haha I am getting the chills just thinking about it... you are brave!!!! I had a bee in my house today and I was so nervous I did not know what to do... I called my friend and freaked out on the phone for awhile about what I should do... I never really thought I was that much of a girly girl until that moment. I did not want to kill it but I didn't know how to get it out! So I left it and hopefully it made its way out of there! It's rough moving out on my own... my dad always took care of that kind of stuff for me! I have a whole new appreciation for him! I think I will call him tomorrow and tell him... he will laugh at me... and then he will tell me that I should move down south with them like he told me... but I am 24 time to go on my own haha... Wow i am in a chattty mood right now... too bad its 1am... anyway... get thru the door on Thursday and talk to people before and after... I think you will enjoy it! :)
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"Advice is what you ask for when you already know the answer but wish you didn't"
Wow, what a magnificent creature! Beautiful markings.
I can't wait til you come back and tell us how your first meeting went. Kudos to yu for making that first call. Your posts are reflecting so much growth, Laura, and it's just so cool to watch (read). Keep on keepin' on, love Chris
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"Never argue with an idiot... They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience..."
Thanks Jamie and Chris! Your cheerleading is well appreciated! (Sorry about the creeping you out, Jamie, with spider pictures; I guess in the headline instead of just saying "and the good fortune spider" I should have said "Warning: There be spiders pictures here." :) And, yeah, Chris, I love their markings. I had to warn the kids at work 'though that although they see me catching these guys bare handed, they shouldn't touch bugs without an adult. The baby cane spider (which is the one pictured here) looks alot like the brown recluse! Oi! I had no idea until the other day when I started surfing around online for spider images. A brown recluse could be fatal for a small child! Anywho, I think you, Jamie, have the proper survival response: run away. Unless, of course, you know what you're looking at. I guess I like cane spiders because they're misunderstood. The only person I ever met who was bitten by one of these accidentally rolled over on top of one in his sleep. Can't we all relate to a misunderstood little beast with a bad rap who actually does a lot of good . . . like the mud dauber wasp--they rarely sting unless they are seriously provoked (i.e. you're trying to kill . . . and even then they're not always clued into the attacker's intentions) and they kill black widows!!!!!!! 'er, anyway, can you tell I've been trying to replace tv with my own little studies of insects . . . :)
Well done on making that call. I do hope that you'll have a super meeting, but I'm sure that you will. Please let us know how it goes for you, won't you?
And, thanks for sharing the pics with us. But, I have to say that I'm not too keen on spiders, even though they did look 'lovely'!!!
Take care,
Carol
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss
aww.. I can relate to your fondness of those spiders. There is a particular kind of spider in the Dominican Republic that I got fond of. They are grey, and their blue eyes are luminescent in the right kind of light, and they are also pretty docile. The ones around where i live in the northeast are smaller, but they eat other bugs that are pests, so I see them as kind of like 'mouser' cats.
When i was a kid I was very afraid of them,, but you're right that the thing is to learn to know one kind from another.
I'm glad you had a great day and were so blessed in so many ways.
amanda
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do your best and God does the rest, a step at a time
"Mouser" cat--cute, I like that, Amanda. And if you've ever seen them cleaning themselves, they look a bit like cats do when giving themselves a bath. They twist into various positions and clean their legs . . . :) Drove past the location of the meeting today just so to make the concept of going tomorrow more real . . .
I am glad you drove past the meeting tonight so you know where it is... I made the mistake tonight of getting lost!! uugghhh... let us know how it went tomorrow!
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"Advice is what you ask for when you already know the answer but wish you didn't"
This is Thursday night (the only reason I know this is because Survivor is on). I don't know what time zone Laura is in, and I've been checking all night to see how the five thirty meeting went...Yoohoo, Lauraaaaaaa......
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"Never argue with an idiot... They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience..."
Thanks for checking in on me, Chris! I live in TLH's time zone so by the the time I was done the meeting and ran a couple of errands I didn't get home until what I'm sure is late for you. I posted about my meeting experience above. Thank you all! Love in recovery, Laura
