PO Box 1980

A few years back, I attended a fun-filled New Year's Eve at a local university with many of my anonymous friends. We ate good food, danced, and laughed from deep within our bellies. Then we had a countdown, acknowledging the person with the longest sobriety all the way to the person with the shortest by clapping and carrying on and on and on.

I was with a dear friend, who had just come back from the terrible relapse she'd suffered after many years of sobriety. We were both sad. I felt that if it's really one day at a time, then we should get rid of this phony pep rally that gives some of us a dangerous feeling of having it made because we've been sober many years. What an obvious setup. Ask anyone who has relapsed after years of sobriety.

After that confusing evening, I vowed never to stand up at my home group or anywhere else to acknowledge my days sober. I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade. And God may like the countdown. I just thought I'd give you two old friends' perspective on one New Year's Eve.

Viva AA! Viva your sober life.