12 Steps and Christmas…well, Holidays

For some reason my mind is sort of playing with the 12 Days of Christmas and the 12 Steps. I like the symmetry of 12 at the moment. There’s something ringing in my mind with the notion that 12 is a sacred number.

This time of year I naturally think of Christmas’ Past, which for me is in three chunks.

The first is childhood, and the Christmas I discovered I wasn’t supposed to act on my feelings, but instead to pretend that I loved the biggest or most expensive gift the most, even if I didn’t. Oh I’m sure I had many good times, but that’s what I remember – how we love our stories.

The second is being drunk on Christmas – year after year. Sometimes more drunk, sometimes less… but never ever sober.

The third is post sobriety – and what a change! Every single Christmas since my first sober Christmas has been good, sometimes great. And every single one has been different. I’ve celebrated alone, I’ve celebrated with friends, I’ve celebrated with and without family. Need I say sobriety is a blessing?

Love, blessings and gratitude,

You might want to read the article I wrote called Take Time to Pause