Yet

I was in love with my work in social services and very grateful for my career of 27 years. An hour before the office doors closed one Friday afternoon, 35 staff were gathered and we all heard the news at the same time. Our employment contract would end in two years. During that time, my grief deepened and my drinking patterns changed. I made “deals” with myself: what I would drink when I would drink when I wouldn’t drink, and how much I would drink. Despite continuing to drink, I walked into an AA meeting for the first time. During each AA meeting, members shared their 2-5 minutes stories and I paid attention to the details and the parallels to my own life. Members had lost their jobs, their homes, their cars, their spouses, and their children.