Well, here is the traffic that I had to dodge on Saturday to meet with a sponsee. Those are 37,000 + runners heading into the city along the route that I use to get to where I needed to be. I've run the "Bridge Run" before but didn't this year. It's the 3rd largest 10 K in the country and this year an Ethiopian took first. Usually, the Kenyans win and have had a streak going for years. I hope to see some of the running bloggers here sometime. Great scenery, great hospitality, and a great run.
Anyway, I was 15 minutes late getting to my sponsee but we talked. He knew what was happening because the returning runners were filing past the restaurant in droves. We talked for nearly two hours and decided to meet up again on Thursday.
I liked his enthusiasm. He's not that long in the AA fellowship. So I explained that I could guide him through the Al-Anon steps but that his sobriety and his AA sponsor were his priorities. I sense an urgency in him and a desire to work the program. But I want to make sure that he keeps the focus on AA.
The rest of Saturday I worked on the boat, cleaning out the bilges and doing some mildew removal. Then I went to dinner at the home of the parents of a good friend of mine. They seem to enjoy my visits. And I tend to outstay my welcome because we ended up watching two movies. I left their house, with the dad snoring on the couch, around 12:45 AM. And then back to the boat for some much needed sleep.
Sunday was a sleep in day, followed by a lot of reading and some catching up on journal writing. I can't hang in there for late nights anymore. They make me "rest broken".
Tonight's home group. I'm glad to have had a good night's sleep last night. And this week is a full work week.
Have a good Monday. I think that I can trust this day.
I like your advice to your sponsee.
ReplyDeleteFor a moment, I thought I spotted MC in that picture. Near the front.
'i can trust the day' what a concept. i'd like to remember that one! and good monday to you too!
ReplyDeleteAwww, Dave, you are too kind. That looks like a nice race.
ReplyDeleteGlad you gave the sponsee the advice you did. Sometimes we drunks flounder around trying to address all kinds of problems when our priority is clearly something else.
Hi Syd,
ReplyDeleteIt's great to be home again. While all the runners pictured here were running, I was celebrating my son's wedding (as you know - thanks for the kind comment).
I, too, love the advice to your sponsee. I sponsor a good number of women in both AA and Al-Anon and both programs are vitally important.
Sometimes those in AA quite a while who start the Al-Anon program tend to want to drift away from AA, but they need to remember where they came from and they still need to be there for the newcomer - they have lots to give back.
Thanks for you post,
PG
you gave good advise.I can trust the day is an interesting concept.I hope that you have a greay day today and the rest of the week as well.
ReplyDelete.......you are having a spiritual life more and more. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteDon't those runners run into one another? (Now you see what I know about running!)
ReplyDeleteYour advices are So full of compassion, knowledge, and...well, spiritual soundness.
I sure appreciate you being on here. Glad I got on around July 1 last year. I look back sometimes, and when I see what I would have missed--I then KNOW God led me here!
I like that you simplified it for your sponsee. Telling him to keep the focus on his first priority...his sobriety. That would be such a relief to me if I were him. Good stuff Syd. And thank you for always commenting on my blog. I always love hearing from you.
ReplyDeleteThat picture is the ultimate reason for being late!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading your posts now Syd. Thanks for the thought-provoking words.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that we could use both fellowships for help. thanks for sharing this i will discuss this with my sponsor, hopefully tonight. what a great picture of the runners.
ReplyDeleteWhen i was about 17 my girlfriend and I decided we were going to run the LA marathon. We figured it was a great way to meet good looking guys. So we got all dolled up with our make up and got our sponsors, and you guessed it, about 15 minutes into the run i looked over at her and she at me and we both looked like Tammy Fay on a good day!! So we stopped our run and that was my one shot at a marathon!!
I thought you were exaggerating yesterday when you commented about all those runners!
ReplyDeleteIt was good of you to give the young man the advice you did. I'm glad you had a good weekend.
ReplyDeleteyup, I experienced that "traffic" too :)
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to watch and listen to all the excitement though. I haven't been brave enough to run it yet, just excited enough to watch :)
Glad you had a good weekend!
I know so many people that started in Al-anon and found that they actually needed to be in the AA rooms. You are wise to advise him as you did.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same as you with the "rest broken" thing. Thanks to your post title I've now got Monday, Monday stuck in my head on Tuesday.
ReplyDelete