My sister is #1 on my graditude list. She is my biggest supporter in sobriety. And sometimes, her lack of knowledge and her concern teach me more than she knows. This week, she told me she's happy that we are still as close now as we were when we were using together. To her it means I really love her, and can show it when I'm sober, not just when I'm intoxicated. She told me she thought it was ok if I drank once a season, but not if I took an adderall once every 5 years. But at the same time, she realizes we can't ever smoke or drink together anymore. I briefly explained that neither senario was ok in my case. And that there were so many other things I'd rather do with her than use. This reinforced step one. She asked me why dad was taken from us by this disease, did he not love us enough to get sober. How can I do this, but he didn't. This taught me compassion empathy and made me just that aware of how what happened to him could happen to me if I'm not diligent. She asked me why he killed himself. This allowed me to explain to her what a relapse was and how it starts. Also reinforcement. Also, she is (so far) the only one who knows the whole story, seen my actions and the effect they had on everyone around me, and she still looks to me for answers. This (along with my mother) has taught me unconditional love. For this-- I am so grateful.

Thanks for sharing this. My Dad's drinking affected my whole life, even after he had died. Only when I did my 5th step with my sponsor was I able to overcome this. Today we also run AOCA meetings at our home group. It has been very beneficial to me.