Intergroup

The first Tuesday of every month our group of Gamblers Anonymous has what is called "Intergroup". This is where the secretaries of the meetings in our region go to discuss the business matters in Gamblers Anonymous. It is mostly an informational meeting and some label it a necessary evil. This was the second time I have attended; I attended last month when all of the yearly elections were held. Also; my sponsor who is the Chairman of Intergroup was unable to attend last month because his sister passed away. My sponsor (Chairman) was there tonight and he did an amazing job keeping the creed of "principles before personalities" moving throughout the evening. There are a lot of wonderful people in this meeting and my sponsor is certainly one of them. He asked me to co-chair a workshop on trust in October. I gladly accepted and this small gesture made me feel very good.

There were five of us who car pooled down to the meeting; it was 45 minute drive. One year ago I would have never thought of going to a GA meeting let alone a "business" GA meeting but there I was with four other people driving down to the Intergroup meeting. Although our stories differed each one of us could not control our gambling and finally found the willingness to seek help. Each person in our "caravan" is dedicated to the GA program and realizes what compulsive gambling can and will do to a person. These are real people with families, jobs and responsibilities yet they have found the time to give back to the program. I am so proud to be associated with these individuals.

One of the drawbacks of going to this meeting is getting back at a late hour when my children are asleep. I regularly attend the Tuesday GA meeting so I usually get back after the children go to bed anyway so I am getting used to this fact. It still hurts knowing the children go to bed before I get home but I want GA to be a part of my life so I can have a life with my children. I will take the trade-off because it beats the alternative. I am digressing so I will get back on track. When I got home from the meeting I spoke with my wife regarding the night's events and she told me about her daily events.

My daughter starts school next week (yes, this seems a bit early but we really like her school calendar, it is a 10 month program) and she was assigned her teacher for 2nd grade. We were hoping she would get her 1st grade teacher who was moving up to 2nd grade as well but we weren't so lucky. I have written about my daughters 1st grade teacher before and I cannot say enough about this wonderful, caring, giving woman; she is an AMAZING person. As it turns out we have been told there are no bad 2nd grade teachers and my daughter was assigned a teacher who is extremely good. However; she is pregnant. Naturally my wife and I were very concerned because there is enough turmoil in our household we were hoping for some stability in my daughter's classroom. This teacher is due any day so she will not start the school year next week; she should be back sometime in October. I think this is better than having her start the school year and having the students get used to her and then having her go out on leave to be replaced by a substitute teacher. Also; as it turns out my daughter has three friends she knows very well in her class in fact they were all in the same Kindergarten class. She will do fine and I have the utmost confidence in the school system because her first two years have been wonderful.

I went in to kiss my daughter good night when I got home from my meeting and she was still awake (I think my daughter stays awake more than she sleeps but this maybe a story for a different occasion!!). She told me about her Girl Scout camp she attended today and will be attending for the rest of the week. She also told me she was sad she didn't get her first grade teacher for second grade but in the same sentence she told me she knew three people in her new class. She gets along very well with these three children and this seemed to ease any tension she may have had. My daughter is a caring, compassionate and wonderful child. I need to instill as much consistency as possible because there will come a time when I will not be around because of my bad deeds. I will miss her along with my wife and son tremendously but it is not permanent. I will see my children grow and be a part of their life no matter what happens to me. I finally appreciate what I have NOT what I want. These are the things that keep me going each and everyday. I love my family so very much!!