I have been happily attending in-person meetings for 35 years now. But after the 2020 pandemic altered the landscape of AA, I began to integrate online meetings into my schedule.

“Flight delayed” the sign said. Good to know, but what do I do now? I had just gotten out of treatment.

I had just celebrated two years of sobriety in autumn of 1989, and my beloved partner was sober four months longer than me. I decided the two of us needed to go away on a vacation.

When I had 11 years of sobriety I started feeling the need to put a name to my Higher Power. I’ve always been open and have sought out a lot of religions.

Traveling with my family has always been a challenging time for me in sobriety. It takes me out of my regular routine.

In 2015 I took my first trip to Dubai, UAE.

It was the summer of my second year of sobriety, and we were traveling to Driggs, Idaho for my daughter’s best friend’s wedding.

I came into AA as an agnostic—and I was more than willing to prove it, even though I didn’t fully understand what an agnostic was.

Last May about 30 of us from Delaware AA drove down to Mathews, Virginia  (population 535) for our friends Stephen and Meredith’s wedding.

When I was new to AA, I worked the Steps, albeit with limited input from my sponsor. This was on me as much as on her.

Back in my drinking days, my older brother enlisted with the Peace Corps. While he was out of the country for two years he stored his possessions in the basement of our dad’s house.

No one gets paid to save souls in AA.

As a child, I liked to organize my dolls. I would carefully put them in a place on my shelf, and there they would stay for years. To drive me nuts, my friends would move them around.

I really did intend to have my last drink on September 7, 2022, but my Higher Power had different plans for me. That morning I was arrested at my mom’s house for an outstanding warrant.

Like so many I have known in the program, I sat on Step One for a long time. OK, I was powerless over alcohol, and my life was unmanageable. Got it.

In October of 2005, I picked up what I hope will be my last white chip. I had tried to stop drinking so many times before, but this time I was ready.

When I got sober in 1986, AA had only been in our town for about eight or nine years.

I got sober in 2016, a few weeks before my 17th birthday.

I had done it again—stayed up way too late watching a presidential debate and the roundtable chatter afterward.

I got sober in New York City. After almost 15 years of hard drinking, by the grace of God I landed in some downtown Manhattan AA groups. The year 1985 was an amazing time to get sober there.

When I first got sober, I thought the hardest part of quitting drinking would be putting down the bottle. But as the fog lifted, I was left with an unexpected challenge—anger.

I very much enjoy being out in my yard and gardens. It’s my opportunity to unwind, find serenity and deepen my spiritual connection.