I wanted to let you know that I will be out of town and away from my computer for a week beginning tomorrow. I am going to visit my home area where I spent the first 20 years of my recovery. I will visit my old home group, see some friends and family, do a fifth step with a sponsee, and hopefully see my sponsor.
On another note, my husband celebrated 20 years clean last night. The manner of celebrating here is something quite different for us and at first we both thought, "No way. I will never celebrate an anniversary this way." It was so foreign and even broke some of the taboos from our old area. However, it's now been a little over a year since we've lived here and last night he celebrated their way and I participated. (When in Rome, do as the Romans?) It was kind of okay. I didn't and don't love it, but it was his choice. Now I will have to decide how I wish to celebrate in January.
I suppose life is good if that's what I'm thinking about this morning.
Have a great day, everyone. And thank you for being an important part of my recovery.
Checkin' in too good to be back here, after a week off at my parents' place in my hometown...
Have a great vacation, Blithe, and yes, give a big Hug to your dear hubbie on my behalf for the 20 miraculous years of recovery
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"If we do an honest examination of exactly what we are giving, we are better able to evaluate the results we are getting."Chapter 10 - Emotional Pain - NA Way of Life.
Yeah, I can relate, that's how I felt here when I relocated myself from my hometown regarding NA b'day celebrations. Takes time to adapt, but still, I tend to celebrate the old way here too in many ways when I have to express my gratitude on a milestone
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"If we do an honest examination of exactly what we are giving, we are better able to evaluate the results we are getting."Chapter 10 - Emotional Pain - NA Way of Life.
wel,,, i thought the Universal thing was to cut cake after the meeting,,and be given the years medal !!! and yeah,, actually,,,, im kewwwwwwwrious ,,,ha,ha,ha !!
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Raman an addict clean and serene just for today in NA Worldwide ; live to love and love to live the NA Way !!!
LOL - I didn't mean for it to be a mystery! I will try to explain without too much bias:
In my old area: Clean time recognition was part of the format; keytags/medallions were given by the chairperson during the meeting. There would usually be cake after the meeting, donated by a home group member. We would each celebrate at our home group and if the meeting was a speaker meeting, the celebrant might be asked to speak. Some groups, especially the larger ones, might give out the keytag/medallion during the meeting but have just one cake for everyone at the end of each month.
In my new area: Clean time recognition is also part of the format, but someone celebrating a year or multiples also gets "presented." The presentation happens at the end of the meeting but before the circle and closing.
Prior to the presentation, the celebrant requests at a group business meeting to have a presentation on a specific day. The group may or may not be the celebrants home group and the celebrant may request a presentation at as many meetings as s/he wishes. The group is then obligated to provide a card and a medallion. The celebrant then asks one, two, or three persons to present him/her.
During the presentation, each of the people who were asked, stands up and speaks about the person celebrating and then usually presents him/her with a gift. Then the celebrant speaks. There is no time limit or restriction on a presentation, so some of them are very brief and others are very long.
After the presentation, the meeting closes in a circle with the Serenity Prayer (or whatever the group has selected) and sometimes there is cake. ______________________________________
Here are a few of my reasons for disliking the manner of celebrating in the new area:
1. I have always been taught that a meeting should begin and end on time. A presentation, however, always causes the meeting the go late since it occurs before the final circle and prayer. I think the timing holds people hostage and is very inconsiderate as people have other obligations and commitments.
2. I was also taught that I should never EVER talk about another addict in a meeting. A presentation, though, requires the presenter(s) to talk to everyone about the celebrant. It makes me very uncomfortable.
3. This was not mentioned above, but it also happens that anniversaries are frequently announced in the Area minutes. "Blithe S. will be celebrating X years at the J.F.T. Group in Boston on October 1st." It is my personal opinion that this is a breach of anonymity. Each of us has the choice to break our own anonymity if we choose, but no one else has the right to do this for us.
darn i thought it would be something much more titillating than that. :P (joking) My home group does it pretty much like your home group as well. Congrats again to you and your husband!
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We are not human beings learning to become spiritual, we are spiritual beings learning to become human.
Well the chairperson gives the chip/keychain like your old home group usually but sometimes a sponsor will speak then give the chip, but not at the end of the meeting. then we have cake at the end
-- Edited by Keli at 08:24, 2007-10-07
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We are not human beings learning to become spiritual, we are spiritual beings learning to become human.
sorry i forgot,,Blithe please say Hi to your husband and a warmbday hug from a friend in a farway land India !! Then,, we here have a habit of speaking on gratitude in bday meetings. then a medal is given,usually by the sponsor at the end of th meeting. theres also a card signed by all members present,,given at the end ! this question of sharing about an another addict in my share is still a sensitive issue,, I did that at a sponsees birthday meeting last month,, nobody minded, not me,not my sponsee,not anyone else !! But that is restricted to one line on what i think of him now, and how i admire aspects of his recovery !!! And boy was that meeting throbbing with Serene energy !!!
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Raman an addict clean and serene just for today in NA Worldwide ; live to love and love to live the NA Way !!!
good to be back here, after a week off at my parents' place in my hometown...
