Meetings Make It

There is a saying in Gamblers Anonymous "meetings make it". This is very simplistic statement and yet it is so profound. A thirty year Gamblers Anonymous member told me the GA program is a simple program for complicated people. He is so right and the "meetings make it" couldn't have been more right for this evening's meeting. Our regular Sunday meeting was locked out of our regular meeting room. Apparently some one changed the locks but forgot to pass along a key. Not to be deterred one of our members suggested a restaurant across the way. The restaurant was kind enough to let us hold the meeting. We had our usual group but even though the setting was different the meeting certainly made it.

In fact this was probably the fastest (in terms of time) GA meeting I have attended in my six months and three weeks yet it was still effective. As is always the case I felt better after the meeting than I felt before the meeting. It is a very simple program but it has been a Godsend for me. I am FINALLY taking a hard look at myself and I thank GA for this without them I would be totally lost.

I know Gamblers Anonymous is not for everyone nor are two step programs but it is working for me. Honesty and having an open mind have really opened my eyes, ears and all the other senses in finding my true character. Yes, gambling has ruined my life but NOT gambling is saving it. There are no lost souls only souls that are lost. I lost my soul somewhere over the past twenty years and I am slowly finding it thanks to fellowship of Gamblers Anonymous.

As I finished this evening's blog entry my daughter came running out of her bedroom and said, "Daddy look!!" as she pointed to her mouth. I looked into her mouth and I saw one of her loose teeth dangling by a thread with a little blood trickling out of the gum. I moved her into the bathroom and told her to rinse with water and as she rinsed with water I asked her if she wanted me to pull the tooth out? She instantly said no and continued to rinse and pull at her tooth. After about two minutes of rinsing and pulling the tooth came out, her blue eyes lit up like candles, she was ecstatic. Of course while my daughter was rinsing and pulling her tooth my son had to join in. He said Lauren scared him and wanted to see what was going on. He watched her pull out the tooth and said, "now Lauren (my daughter his sister) is going to be bigger than me." I guess a four year old's view of his older sister losing her 8th tooth means she is going to be taller than him when they grow up?? Kids do say the darndest things.

We put my daughter's tooth in the special little tooth box so the Tooth Fairy could take it away during the night. My daughter expressed her concern with receiving "one dollar" from the tooth fairy because this is what she has received the past 6 times (the first time was a "five dollar"). She wasn't looking for more money just a variety of money. She said she would rather have a quarter than a "one dollar". After calming my daughter down I went into my son's bedroom to tuck him back into bed. He told me; "now Lauren is going to be so PROUD she lost her tooth," it is fascinating to hear a four year old use the term proud correctly. After saying this he went on to say, "I am so PROUD of Lauren." My children are so amazing and the perspective they bring to my life is incredible, I love them so very much.