Fear = False Evidence Appearing Real

I meant to post this last week and forgot!
Angela


From 12/2/10
Happy Thursday everyone!

I hope you have all recuperated from your Thanksgiving holiday. Mine went too quickly but was very enjoyable.

So, today’s title, “Fear = False Evidence Appearing Real.” This was one of the first acronyms I heard when I came into Al-Anon and boy did it strike home for me.

Yesterday I wrestled with this again. I took my first yoga class after being inactive for years. And I do mean inactive – no swimming, no walking, no exercise basically, period, end of story. So, of course I end up getting into the class late. And then you know I’m sure everyone is looking at me. Mind you, I’m taking this at work too at our gym, so I know half the class. Then I feel awkward and uncomfortable in the first pose or two. But I’m reminding myself in my head, hey, give yourself a break, perfection isn’t the goal here. As I look around the class I realize no one is looking at me. They are in their own space doing their own thing.

While I struggled through the class, I did enjoy it and it is all the stretches I need to be doing to help with my ongoing recovery from knee surgery. Here is where the fear part kicked in. At the end of class as we are relaxing in a final pose called “corpse pose” (basically lying still and trying to quiet the mind and relax the body) I suddenly find myself crying. I’m thinking “What the heck?” I let it happen and tried to figure out where the tears were coming from. I think it was the tension from all that fear. Still there, still not gone, but at least being released in some way from my body and mind. Holey moley. I mean I know I carry a lot of fear around about how I think others think of me. Let’s face it, if you know me, you know I’m not a skinny woman. That is my fear. That I’m not skinny and that because of that people won’t like me. And yet, I have no evidence to support that. Quite the contrary in fact.

Actually I think the fear is even deeper than this. The fear is that I am not a thin woman and therefore I’m never going to find a man to love and who will love me for who I am, no matter what shape my body is in.

Okay, now I’m crying at my desk when I really need to be working. Going to email this to myself to post tonight.

Hugs to all of you who read this. I know the hugs you give me when I see you mean more than you will ever know.

Angela B.

today's reading in ODAT

So, I missed reading my usual daily reading in Hope For Today this morning.  I already had it packed by the time I brushed my teeth.  I'm going to my sister's for the Thanksgiving holiday.  And yes, I have a post-it on my bathroom mirror that says "Brush Teeth = Daily Reading."  I just couldn't seem to get in the habit of doing a daily reading and someone suggested this at a meeting to me.

So, that brings me to today's ODAT reading.  I have no excuse for not doing a daily reading as I have Hope For Today at my bedside, Courage To Change in my car, and One Day At A Time (ODAT) in my desk drawer at work.  So the ODAT doesn't get used much because I'm doing so much better about the reading at home in the morning.

But, today, as I mentioned, I missed my reading at home, so I cracked open my ODAT before sitting down to write on the blog.  Good stuff in here people, as usual.  It is about meetings being for us and dealing with our frustrations and difficulties, not a rehash of someone else's faults and actions (our qualifier or anyone else really).

This is one of the best things I love about Al-Anon.  At healthy meetings, we don't allow each other to wallow around in our self-pity and commiserate endlessly about how we have been wronged.  We decide to stop volunteering to be victims and find constructive ways to help ourselves.  Yes!

I am blessed to regularly attend 3 healthy meetings each week.  Meetings where experience, strength and hope are routinely shared both during the meeting and in the fellowship that follows.  I know my Higher Power brought me to this program when I was finally ready, but oh it would have been so nice to have found it before I was in my late thirties!  I know, I know, I wasn't ready.

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday.  Believe it or not a trip just like the one I am about to take this weekend is what prompted me hitting my "bottom" and finally finding Al-Anon.  For that I'm grateful.  Remember to detach with love when needed and that expectations are premeditated resentments.

Hugs,
Angela B.

"weight" it's Tuesday

Okay, so yes it is a corny title to today's blog.  A play on words after just completing an online health assessment as part of my company's health insurance program for the coming year.  As a large company we are self insured and therefore any claims are really paid by us the employees.  You know I didn't learn this until I had been with the company for 3 years?  They are really pushing hard on several fronts to help us become healthier individuals and in effect control our own insurance costs.

So, for those of you know me personally, you know I am overweight.  This is a very hard thing for me and something I have struggled with since I hit puberty.  First it is hard to deal with, but second it is even harder to admit out loud (or in writing).  It triggers all kinds of emotional reactions. 

It also ties in super strongly to all my self esteem issues.  Never the pretty, popular cheerleader girl in school even though I would have given ANYTHING to be that girl.  Then this whole issue of my self esteem leads into my lack of romantic relationships through the years.  I did finally fall in love 4 years ago, but it was not meant to be.  We made it through 2 years of a long distance relationship before it came apart.  The sad part is I lost a friend of 15 years.

I'm sure as I start to dig into my 4th Step I will find all kinds of useful ah-ha moments that help me start to come to grips with this significant issue.

Thanks everyone for letting me throw out random topics here.

Hugs,
Angela

reaching out via telephone

Hi all,
An AFG member called me this evening.  This aspect of our program, the ability to reach out to someone on the phone list, is such a blessing. Both for the person who makes the call and the person who receives it.  The person who called was calling to see if I would be their sponsor.  Wow!  How flattering.  Unfortunately I don't think I'm at a place in my own recovery (working on step 4) to start sponsoring others.  I was able to offer her other names of AFG members to consider and contact.

She and I did talk for quite some time and I hope I was able to offer her some experience, strength and hope.  These phone calls are important for those who receive them because it gives the receiver a chance to reflect on their own growth in order to offer experience, strength and hope.  It offers the receiver a chance to help another in need like we have been helped.

For the person who makes the call, this is an important step in reaching out and trusting others.  At least it was for me.  Those phone calls to others in our fellowship have gotten me through some really rough periods in my life.  Probably more than those I called will ever know.  For their wisdom, patience, honesty and for their holding my phone call in their safe hearts and hands I am grateful.

Well, I'm wrapping up the Sunday laundry.  I hope we all have a safe and serene week.

Hugs,
Angela B.

grumpy morning

Hi all,
Well, I'm back from a great 4 day conference with a professional organization I belong to.  So inspiring to meet with this national group.  However, yesterday I had a run in with my boss over one of my designs here at work.  And today, I'm still feeling grumpy as all get out about it.

I know this is my ego and my will getting in my own way, but I'm struggling with it still 24 hours later nonetheless.  So, I'm hoping that writing about it will help.

The problem is that I finished this design for another department, and specifically didn't do something because they didn't want it designed that way.  Well, a well-meaning co-worker took my design to a weekly meeting we hold to discuss designs while I was out of the office.  In my opinion this design shouldn't have gone to this meeting because no other similar project designs ever do.  So I'm feeling resentful and persecuted about that whole aspect.

Then, I'm frustrated because what they decided at the meeting (that I was not at) was that I should do exactly what the other department didn't want.  Didn't they think I thought of that?  Didn't they think I discussed this with the other department?  So now I'm feeling like "less than" which plays into my whole ball of issues regarding self-esteen and feeling worthless.  Aiyiyi.

If anyone has any words of wisdom today, I sure could stand to hear them.  I keep asking myself "How important is it?" but so far I haven't been able to let it go.  Your experience, strength and hope would be appreciated.  For now, I'm going to try and connect to my HP and let it go.  And I may have to do that every minute for the rest of the day.

Hugs all,
Angela B.

Closing Prayer

I had a question earlier this week from someone about the closing prayer at a meeting.  It was about the use of The Lord's Prayer and wasn't that an issue as it is generally recognized as a "Christian" prayer.

This took me back to my first days in Al-Anon.  You know the first meeting I attended regularly, and what I now consider my home group, used the Lord's Prayer in their closing.  Honestly it kind of freaked me out on a couple of levels.

First the whole God or Higher Power thing freaked me out when they read the Steps.  But I was in such pain, and they said "as I understood him" that I kept coming back.

Second was that I remembered the Lord's Prayer.  As if it had been drilled into me like the periodic table or formulas I used in engineering were.  I hadn't been near a church in decades, and yet the words to the prayer came out of my mouth as if I had been saying them daily for those decades.

Over time, I learned to accept that when I said the words "Our Father" in the prayer I was speaking to my HP and to the group's HP.  My HP is still not well defined for me and that is okay. 

Eventually someone came along in our group and suggested at a Group conscience meeting that we change to the Serenity Prayer.  We discussed it and we did make the change.  The key is that we decided as a group what we wanted to do.  Concept 4 says "Participation is the key to harmony."  This is so incredibly true in Al-Anon.  If you participate, you gain so much.  Maybe it doesn't get done your way, but the feelings you get from participating and listening to others is tremendous.

The Service Manual actually leaves it up to the groups to decide how to close their meetings.  It specifically says "Will all who care to join me in closing with the _____ prayer?"  It is purposely left blank for each group to decide on this part of their meeting, sticking with Tradition 1 that the greatest progress for all comes from unity.

Enjoy your meetings this week.  Each one is as unique as the people who participate.  For that I am grateful.

Hugs,
Angela B.

a mixed feeling kind of day

Many of you know that the person who has been the father figure in my life for the last 25+ years passed away earlier this year.  (he was my ex-stepfather, but for all intents and purposes a dad to me).  Today would have been his 65th birthday.  So I'm feeling a little sad that I can't pick up the phone to call him.  To tell him Happy Birthday and that his present, and card, will be late as usual.

This was sort of an ongoing joke between us.  We eached missed the other's birthday entirely once.  We were both always horribly late on the cards and gifts.  I actually got my birthday card for June of 2009 in January 2010 just as he was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer.  It had been on his desk for months to be mailed.

On the other hand, I'm happy today to have handed off a lot of the District 5 office responsibilities to two very capable women who have offered their service as Office Coordinator and one brand new employee for the office.  All three were here in the office today and I think they are all on the same page and we are going to start rocking out as a Literature Distribution Center/Al-Anon Information Service.

If you don't know what an LDC or AIS are, I suggest you go to the Al-Anon member's website http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/members/ and log in.  The log in is self explanatory.  Then, click on Group Services and then Guidelines to read G-4 Al-Anon Information Services and G-18 Literature Distribution Centers.

So, enough for now.  I've got some reading to get done.
Yours in service,
Angela B.

District 5 office

Hi all,
Well, we have filled the role at the office vacated by Cynthia.  Our new employee starts tomorrow!  Hurray!

Many thanks to Dick R. for his leadership in finding candidates, scheduling interviews, and scheduling temporary help during the interim.  Thanks to Rick B. for his service on the interview and selection committee.

Also, someone has stepped forward to serve as the Office Coordinator.  Actually a team of two someones.  I am so relieved and happy.  You truly have no idea.

I have been feeling completely overwhelmed by the DR thing and Cynthia's leaving sort of sent me over the edge.  It was the last straw and broke my back for about a 3 week period, culminating in 3 really bad days the week before last, a late night phone call to my service sponsor who was away in the mountains, and a great deal of turmoil in my mind and heart.  Plus much crying and blubbering.

So, I'm moving forward again.  Working on trying to find balance in my life for all that I do - work, District Rep, my meetings, my involvement in a professional organization, pottery classes, and physical therapy following knee surgery that is still continuing.

My service sponsor and I talked again at the end of this past week and she will knock me upside the head (gently) when I let myself feel so beaten up again.

The District meeting on October 9 went well and Fall Assembly is coming up fast.

Well, the dryer has buzzed and it is time to put away clothes before going to bed for a new work week.

Thank you to the many of you that shared hugs with me over the past two weeks.  They have meant more to me than you will ever know.
Angela B.

Tuesday, Tuesday (but sung to "Monday, Monday" tune)

Hi all,
Got to attend my home group last night.  That meeting is so special to me.  The people in that room have given me so much comfort over the last 2.5 years+.  It is so reassuring to know that others suffer from this disease and that it has messed up their thoughts as much as it has messed up mine.  Who knew your brain could deceive you so well?

So, we talked about sponsorship last night as our topic.  It has been on my mind lately for several reasons, not the least of which is that I sat down on Sunday and reviewed/completed Step 3 with my sponsor.  Hurray for me!!!  It is so funny sometimes to read the answers I wrote.  I think to one of the questions all I did was write more questions!

I don't usually sit down and chug out the answers to a Step all at once (I'm working through the questions in Paths to Recovery).  Step 3 spanned from March to August for me to answer all of the questions.  So, when I go back to read what I wrote 3-6 months ago, it is quite interesting.

My program sponsor is also my service sponsor for me in the DR position.  So, I got to spend some time talking to her about DR and how all of that is going.  In my mind I'm not living up to what I think I should be doing.  But I'm learning that is my disease talking to me.  So, I just keep reminding myself every single solitary day (sometimes hourly) "Progress, not perfection."

Well, I'm through the first cup of coffee, so I guess it is time to dig into the work I get paid for.

Hugs to all of you.  Don't be afraid to think of service to your group or your District.  It is a wonderful way to practice your program skills in a forgiving and encouraging environment.

Angela B.

Alateen coordinator

Okay, so I'm guilty of mostly writing this while at work. I have definitely over committed myself, but I'm working on it!

I handed off the info I had to our new District 5 Alateen Coordinator, Melanie F., today.  Hurray!    I'm thrilled to have Melanie on board.  She and I had lunch and it was so wonderful to share with someone what needs to be done to get our AMIIAS all up to date as well as some other concerns that we might want to discuss and further address in our District 5 Alateen/AMIIAS Guidelines.

If you are interested in Alateen, we would love for you to contact us and start the ball rolling on you receiving your AMIIAS certification. 

We had a big public outreach effort on 9/18, but I haven't had a chance to connect with Heather to hear all the details.  I'm sure it went really well.

Also, the Courage to Change Workshops held this past Saturday 9/25 were great.  150 people in attendance!  This is fantastic and shows what one AFG can do when they put their minds and talents together.

Okay, so I'm off to physical therapy for the knee and then to pottery class.  I have God boxes to make and Christmas presents and both will be due before I know it.

Hugs to you all!  (my sponsor says we all need 6 a day to grow)
Angela B.

Service - those who came before us

Well, you should have guessed I would get around to this topic eventually!

I had this really great thought about service early this morning and I should have written it down.  Maybe it will come to me while I'm writing this.  In a nutshell, service is one of the three Legacies of Al-Anon.  Without service our organization would not continue.  Service comes in so many varied forms, but one of the most important is the continued involvement of those who have completed the steps and gone before us.

This service, by those who have completed the steps, allows newcomers to see what the program can do for them.  Their service can be as simple as continuing to attend meetings regularly, or as complex as volunteering to serve at the District, Area or WSO level, or becoming a sponsor.  Without the service of those who came before us, we would not have our wonderful Al-Anon and Alateen programs to turn to.

So, I would ask that any of you who are reading this remember this topic and perhaps bring it up in your meetings if you have the opportunity.  Read from the Service Manual or from our literature, discuss your thoughts about service (big or small), and remind all of our fellowship that those who have worked the steps have the responsibility to continue their program by offering their experience, strength and hope to those who entered the program after them.

Happy Monday everyone.  Wish for some rain for me here, will you?  We could use it.
Angela B.

rambling thoughts

I've no particular thought on my mind today, so this will be a bit of this and a bit of that.

Saw a very good program friend over the weekend. She went to her first Area World Service Committee meeting. Lots of questions from her on the way home about our organization/structure. It really can be quite overwhelming. I highly recommend looking at the org chart on page 157 of the Service Manual. You can even look at it on online. The service manual is accessed through the members website at http://www.al-anon.org/members/
The service manual part you want is at http://www.al-anon.org/members/pdf/p2427/P2427_115_162.pdf.

It probably doesn't help that we can so easily fall into acronym use too, plus the identification of "Alternate" positions.

Work for me has been going along pretty well and busy, so no complaints on that front. Pottery class is starting again tomorrow night so I'm looking forward to that.

I finished Step 3 and just need to review it with my sponsor now. Did I mention that before? :-)
It is funny because the program friend I saw over the weekend, showed up with her Paths To Recovery book and was going to have me answer questions on the way to the meeting in Burlington. She had no idea I had been working the steps and yet I could swear I had told her!

My oldest niece is turning 15 in a couple of weeks. I'm feeling like an old fogie and I'm only 42! I remember holding her in my arms like it was yesterday. geez, where does the time go?

I'm looking forward to my meeting tonight. I miss my home group folks and I'm sad to say I didn't make it to any of my usual 3 meetings last week. That makes for a not good Angela B.

Well, it is time for me to duck out of here and head to that meeting. It is such a part of my Monday night schedule that it really does throw me all out of whack when I miss it.

Hugs to you all! (my sponsor says you need 6/day to grow!)
Angela B.

Sponsorship - more thoughts

I read today's reading in Hope For Today this morning. It was about sponsorship and how that role plays out in our recovery. Lately I have been turning more to my service sponsor than my program sponsor (although they are actually the same person in my case). My service sponsor helps me with questions I have about the position of District Representative, about questions the fellowship poses to me that I have no idea how to answer, and many other things about Al-Anon.

Every time I'm amazed at how happily she takes my call or reads my email and provides me with thoughtful feedback.

I have also called on the previous DR many times to answer my questions or get history about a particular issue. He too always answers my call or responds to my email.

I'm gearing up for the next Area World Service Committee meeting which is tomorrow. A friend who lives in District 1 will be coming along as their Alternate DR. It will be her first AWSC meeting and hopefully I'll be able to do as her friend what my service sponsors have done for me - answer her questions and encourage her service work tomorrow.

Take care everybody.
Angela B.

long weekend

Hi all,
Well it feels like a Monday here after the long holiday weekend.

I traveled to see my sister so I missed my Friday, Saturday and Monday night meetings. I'm already looking forward to this Friday night meeting. Then I have an Area World Service Committee meeting on Saturday in Burlington. Before I know it half of September will be over.

So a long weekend spent with family is fraught with the opportunity to slip into old habits, as you might imagine. For the most part I didn't find myself doing those things. Part of it may be my sister's fiancée. Wow what an influence he has been on her. So calm and just doesn't let her temper tantrums (over the little things) get to him. So, consequently she doesn't seem to have those temper tantrums over the little things.

He does play in a band and so I do see both of them drinking quite a bit, but they aren't doing it every day so I'm leaving it be. He holds a real job too and drives over an hour each way to work, so he must love my sister to do that.

My one desire to slip into my old habits of offering my opinions and advice occurred Sunday night. She got into it with her soon to be stepson. She felt he lied to her about who drank the last diet Mt. Dew in the fridge. Whether he did or not I don't know. But I stayed out of it, so good for me and my program.

Okay, off to work now. Meetings all day today.

Yours in service,
Angela B.

A request for info on sponsorship

I had a request from someone to share about finding a sponsor.

I can tell you my story about a sponsor. I found my first sponsor during my first year in the program and we had a lot in common. However, I wasn't ready for the committment. Especially her request to call her every day. I felt like I was interrupting because she had a family and kids to tend to. When I finally decided I needed a sponsor and I had to make this committment to my program, she was unable to continue as my sponsor.

So I began to search. I settled on someone who regularly attended one of the meetings I did. Then, as soon as I made up my mind to ask her, she stopped showing up at the meeting. Okay HP, I'm listening!!

So, I decided I might need to broaden my search pool and tried a new meeting. The Queen City Friday night meeting. I had heard lots of good things about this meeting. Well, that first night when I walked in, the woman who greeted me was someone I had met at the previous Winter Round Up. I didn't remember her name, but what I remembered was that she came into one of the same sessions at Winter Round Up, gave everyone a hug (whether she knew us or not), and stated "You need 6 hugs a day to grow!" She was just this vibrant person who immediately made an impact on me. So when I walked into QC Friday night and there she was I though "Okay, HP, I'm paying attention!"

So I asked her after that meeting if she would be my sponsor. She is both my program sponsor and my service sponsor.

I have actually finished Step 3 and I'm about to embark on the journey of Step 4.

Finding your sponsor and establishing a relationship is a journey, just like every part of this program. I asked a few others before widening my search pool and finding my sponsor. It just wasn't the right time for them. It wasn't about them not liking me! Sponsorship is about establishing a new relationship of trust and communication. No hurt feelings, no old resentments, none of the old patterns we know oh so well. Enjoy finding your sponsor. You never know who you will meet along the way!

Yours in service,
Angela B.

Alateen on my mind....

Hi all,
Wow, the blog has two followers! How cool!

So, Alateen seems to have been my focus as District Rep lately. Recruiting AMIIAS (Al-Anon Member Involved In Alateen Service), a new Alateen group wants to form in Matthews, finding an Alateen Coordinator for the District, getting my own AMIIAS approval, the District 5 Guidelines for Alateen & AMIIAS, whew. AMIIAS - say "ah-my-us"

I went and got fingerprinted today for my own FBI background check to be an AMIIAS. Did you know that the District 5 Guidelines for AMIIAS are stricter than those of the Area and WSO? Well they are. We do a FBI background check and sex offender registry search before the District signs off on the AMIIAS application and forwards it to Area 42. I'm going to get these guidelines posted up on our web page for easier access by all.

In the area of recruiting, I know of two people who are taking the steps to get their own AMIIAS application going. I also found an Alateen Coordinator from our existing AMIIAS in the District! Oh happy day for me!!! I just need to figure out now what to hand off to her. I obsess with handing things over to people in "perfect" order and I'm having to work on that. Me? An obsession? Not in this program! Yeah, right.

Anyway, all you Alateens have been on my mind lately and I've enjoyed meeting several of you as well as our AMIIAS who sponsor these groups.

Okay, lunch time is over. Time for me to get back to work.

Yours in service,
Angela B.

someone is reading!

Wow, someone actually is reading the blog. Thanks so much for the comment Stephanie. I was starting to wonder if my ramblings were just floating in cyberspace.

So, our next District 5 meeting is this Saturday. My how the time flies. I'm frantically getting ready for it, and realizing how much I have overcommitted myself this week. I'm going to have to work to block out the time ahead of these meetings for better preparation.

I am continually amazed at the amount of email I get related to being District Representative. From the various GR's letting me know about changes related to their groups, from the Area level sharing info I need to pass on to the groups, from Alateen, etc. I have literally tried to eliminate every other email subscription I have away from work just to try and keep up with the Al-Anon email.

Keeping up with Group Contact info has been challenging all by itself. Group emails, mailing addresses, GR contacts, groups starting, groups closing, etc.

I am not making the best use of my time it feels like. I can very easily still slip into that place of isolating and not doing the things I know I should be doing. My meeting schedule of 3x's per week has slipped and that probably has something to do with it.

I don't call my sponsor like I probably should either. But, she is always there for me when I do and for that I am forever grateful. She has helped me so much in the last 7-8 months. Just knowing I have this person to rely on to help me talk through the troubles sometimes makes it easy to work it out without even making the call!

My Al-Anon friends help too. So many of you who offer a hug, a smile, a "we missed you!" (with the exclamation mark) when I show back up after having missed a couple of my regular meetings.

Okay, I should really be working. Next post - my 2nd AA speaker meeting and my thoughts about it (trying to do what my sponsor tells me!).

yours in service,
Angela

Hope for Today

Good morning all,
Today's Hope For Today reading was very interesting. It talked about how this person had started the program and was doing really well, but it started to fade off. And she realized it was because she was focusing on the friendships she had developed instead of her own recovery. She wasn't thinking about the message at the meetings but rather her friends at the meetings.

I've been lax in getting to my 3 meetings a week over the last 6 weeks or so do to various commitments (over commitments really) or my own sheer laziness. When I have been to meetings though I have been trying to focus on the messages being shared. Sometimes that means I have to close my eyes and really listen to the person sharing. I can't be passive in this listening, I have to be active, or I discover I walk out of the meeting without gaining anything toward my own recovery.

After a long day at work, this can be really hard. When I'm looking forward to catching up in the fellowship that occurs after a meeting this can be really hard. But, when I do it, I find those "ah-ha" moments that occurred so often during my first year in recovery.

So, I'm off to get busy at work now. And looking forward to the message I will hear at the meeting I attend on Friday nights. I hope you find a message of recovery today too.

Angela B.

Tomorrow is Friday!

Hi all,
Well, I'm not sure if anyone is reading this or not. No followers yet. And as you can see I'm struggling to do this every Monday evening which is what I said I would do in my mind. Progress, not perfection, right?

I'm taking my foster cat to Southpark on Saturday to the adoption event to see if he can find his forever home. So, instead of hanging at the mall for a solid 6 hours, I'm going to take the opportunity to head over to the District office off Tyvola and get some Al-Anon work done. We have the new computer in place and man what a difference!

I've been missing my Al-Anon meetings. Too many committments and not enough time in a week. Two nights of physical therapy a week did NOT help my schedule. I am doing well following my knee surgery at the end of May.

As for life as DR, well there is always something more to tackle, some new challenge I never even considered. Luckily I have a Service Sponsor who is great and the previous DR Dick has been awesome about answering my questions.

We lost a group this week - Lost and Found AFG disbanded. We gained a group last month with a new group in the Ballantyne area. So holding steady as she goes for the numbers of groups.

I've found a great new web tool for trying to get a bunch of people scheduled so I'll be trying to put together an AMIIAS/Alateen meeting in the next month. The next District meeting is just 4 short weeks away too on July 31.

Off to physical therapy. I hope I see some of you at Queen City tomorrow night. I need a meeting!

Angela B.

So, I'm back from my third Area World Service Committee meeting in Burlington. It has been great to get to know people from all over the North Carolina/Bermuda area.

I've sent out the flyer for the next NC/BDA convention in 2011. Yes, it is out early. Yes, we are still at the Days Inn in Southern Pines. This location being either (a) not the best maintained site or (b) too far was a significant comment gleaned from the over 150 Convention survey responses. We did choose this location for one more year while we look for a different site to sign a 3 year contract with. More on the search effort over the coming year.

We are still looking for an Alateen Coordinator, Office Coordinator and Literature Coordinator for the District. So, if you are interested in these positions, please contact me at district5dr @ gmail.com.

I'm still feeling very overwhelmed by the many duties required by this position but so many have offered your support that I'm happily still plugging along. I'm learning to ask for help too.

Recovery from knee surgery is going well. I'm at work and off crutches. Now I just have physical therapy appointments twice a week to add to my schedule.

Enough from me today. Hope you are all finding some little bit of serenity today.
Yours in service,
Angela

Monday musings

Hi everyone out there in District 5,
I know most of you don't even know about this blog yet, but I'm going to try and get in the habit of at least reaching out here occasionally. We are currently looking at revamping the whole District 5 website thanks to our Website Coordinator Hayes R. (go Hayes!) Eventually I would like to have a link to this on the website for all of you to visit if you so choose, that includes all the membership, not just GR's.

So, I'm entering my sixth month here as DR and I will tell you "whew." All the things Dick R didn't mention about this job. No ramp up either - just bam there it is to be tackled right at the first Area World Service committe meeting in January. Then Winter Roundup, the District meeting, my father's cancer diagnosis; next thing I knew we were heading to Spring Assembly and now it is June!

I am enjoying meeting all of you and I promise one of these days I'll remember all of your names right off the bat. I'm getting better slowly but surely.

Oh yes - still looking to fill two positions at the District level. Office Coordinator and Alateen Coordinator. If you are interested email me at district5dr @ gmail.com.

Take care my Al-Anon friends and family.
Angela B

new stuff

Hi all of you in District 5. Greetings from your District Representative. Our Area Website Coordinator has set up this blog for me. Maybe a way to communicate with all of you GR's, Treasurers, and the membership in whole. We will see.

I will tell all of you that in the first 5 months of having this job, I have a whole new respect for the work Dick R did for the last 3 years. It is a lot of information to keep up with.

Yours in service,
Angela B