Pumpkin Picking

This morning started out with me taking my son and some Gamblers Anonymous material to our Saturday morning GA meeting. I could not attend the meeting but I needed to drop the materials off. My son and I helped set up the room before the meeting with my wonderful GA companion. I stayed for a few minutes and for my son's hard work of setting up the room he received a chocolate donut (which he loved!). This was an interesting day at the GA meeting and I was very sorry to miss the after meeting where we discussed the format of the meeting (got that??).

We have a very close knit group in our fellowship and many of us attend multiple meetings in the area. Without a doubt I love our GA group and without their support I would be completely lost. I do understand the need for structure in all parts of life especially in Gamblers Anonymous. Some people in our fellowship thought we were losing this structure and brought it to our attention. I completely understand this concern and there are some very important concepts in the Gamblers Anonymous Unity Program such as; our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon group unity.

Without group unity the program fails and we need to maintain this group unity even though it means listening to points of view we may disagree with; every member in GA has a right to voice their opinions and we MUST maintain group unity because every member matters. Also; Gamblers Anonymous has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to the compulsive gambler who still suffers; this message must be communicated clearly and concisely. If we lose our way on this message the program will flounder. I believe our group is doing a fantastic job of carrying this message but that doesn't mean we are perfect and can't use some criticism.

The best part about our society is everyone has their own opinion and the same goes for GA. As long as the opinion is in unison of the GA Unity Program we must address all issues. I believe we addressed these issues and hopefully everyone is happy with the outcome. I hold no ill will to anyone in the Program because we all have the same purpose and we are all doing what we think is right.

Okay I went a little long on the GA meeting after the meeting even though I wasn't even there because I couldn't stay for the meeting because my family went pumpkin picking. We went pumpkin picking with the families of my daughter's Brownie troupe. It was a great day and we joined our dear friends on the ride up and back from the pumpkin patch. We had a very nice picnic lunch, the children played on a hay bale "mountain" and after lunch we picked pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. We found some very unique pumpkins and other assorted squashes from the patch. It was a great day.

One thing struck me funny; there was an incident which I will not bore any one with the details; however; it did strike me funny how so people let the littlest things get to them. I know I am not supposed to take inventory of others and I try to turn these observations towards myself. I know in the past the little things did NOT bother me because I turned off my emotions and stopped feeling. Little, big, in between, things did not bother me because I became a robot to myself. If I started to feel it meant I may actually have to look at myself and understand what I was doing. I stayed in this denial for way too long.

Now I understand not to let the little things bother me but it is okay if I have feelings. Life is too short to let the little things bother me but if I do feel something this is also okay. I cannot blow things out of proportion and must continue to get in touch with my feeling one day at a time. God does have a master plan for me and I know by doing the right things and having real emotions this master plan will work out no matter what happens.

Each day in my life is a learning experience. I cherish these learning experiences like I cherish the love and support of my family and friends. Even negative emotions have a positive impact if looked at properly. I choose to live and learn and thank God for all of the good in my life.