Daily Posting to my Gratitude Blog

Checking back over my monthly posting counts, I have not missed daily posting since August and only 5 days/posts since March.  This is one of the most successful attempts at a healthy daily activity that I have achieved in my life ranking right up there with my previous sobriety times of nearly having 5 years and 7 years.

It would be good to extend this success to other areas of my life.  Months ago, I made a weight loss goal of one pound per week.  Judging by the reading on scale at the doctor’s office yesterday, that is going backwards.  Likewise with swimming as often as I had hoped to make it.  Progress, not perfection.


I am grateful for the pleasantly amazing consistency of my Gratitude blog writing.  I write for myself to focus on being grateful and for my sister to let her know that I am: a) still alive; and b) some random success in my day.

I Need a New Habit

My life feels slightly adrift right now as I near my 55th birthday and am again closing in on one year of sobriety.  Fortunately I don’t have a great deal of angst or anxiety.  It is clear there is a need for something else in my life.  For most people, that would be a job.  In my situation, making more than $1k/month is counter-productive.

Volunteering with kids in a mentoring or tutoring is an obvious possibility.  I emailed a local organization earlier this week about volunteering.  It would be great have a part-time self-employed gig making a few more dollars or paying expenses in lieu of wages although I haven’t come across anything that really comes close to being even a seemingly feasible possibility.

Something will turn up if I am ready to answer the door when opportunity knocks.  If I leave a light on and let people know I am home & ready to go, that knock will surely happen sooner than later.


I am grateful to have lived this long, have 346 days of sobriety and a meeting to secretary tomorrow morning.  After that, I will meet with Mike and Greg at the mall for some fellowship.

A New Refrigerator and a Quiet Car

The fan/motor/compressor noise from my refrigerator bugged me while sleeping since I moved into this apartment a dozen years ago.  The solution was to sleep with my bedroom door closed which worked pretty well.

The maintenance guy replaced my refrigerator with a newer model that was six months old.  I did not ask why they had a refrigerator laying around that was 6 months old, but am a bit curious about that.

My car had a squeak and a rattle that should have been fixed by Ali’s Automotive a couple of visits ago.  They finally got the squeak fixed, but did not get the rattle from the exhaust pipe until after they brought the car back to me and I gave the driver, Ali’s daughter Katherine, a ride back to the shop.  That took another 45 minutes.  They used to do a lot better work.  This was all done under warranty so I am at least okay with the price.

I am grateful to have good technicians to fix quality products for me at no cost for me today.  It felt especially good to have my car and refrigerator in good quiet working order as I drove back from the shop today.  It still feels good to have completed those mechanical maintenance tasks.


Celebrating My Birthday With Friends

Next week is my birthday.  I will be 55.  It used to be that in true alcoholic fashion, I would be having a great birthday, realize I was having a “perfect” moment, want it to last forever and immediately be bummed out when realizing that the moment would not last. Years ago, I learned from Gigi to spread out my birthday celebration over weeks.  That works a lot better for me in that I get to have multiple pleasant moments and not get fall into the trap of the perfect moment followed by the slam of nothing lasts forever.

Lea made me fried chicken tonight for an early birthday dinner.  We had delicious fried chicken, yummy potato salad and watery mashed potatoes with the blandest gravy I have ever made.  It was a nice evening cooking and eating together.  Lea was feeling poorly, so she made the chicken while I made the potatoes and gravy.  We said grace and I enjoyed the meal.  She had a small piece of chicken.  It was not a perfect moment, but it was nice to have a home-cooked delicious fried chicken dinner. 

Lea made white chocolate chip cookies with pecans as a treat for the meeting this morning.  They were a hit judging by the way the way they were all gone after a small meeting.

On Sunday the 9th, we will get-together with friends from the Sunday night meeting to celebrate Charlie’s birthday and my birthday at the usual Nordstrom Café location.  I have known Charlie for 8 years and we have never celebrated his birthday. That will be nice. 

On the 10th, Sandy and will celebrate our birthdays at the Noppakao Thai restaurant in Kirkland.  We ate there many times last year, but have not been back for months.  Noppakao has the best tasting freshest veggies of any restaurant I know.

Sometimes I jest that “had I known I was going to live this long, I would have taken much better care of my body”.  It would be great if my body was in much better shape.  I am grateful for the stable health that I am blessed with.


I am grateful for the serenity and friendships that I have developed in the last half-dozen years.  These are the best friendships I have ever had in my life.

A Thankful Heart

I try to hold fast to the truth that a full and thankful heart cannot entertain great conceits. When brimming with gratitude, one's heartbeat must surely result in outgoing love, the finest emotion that we can ever know.  As Bill Sees It, p. 37

My sponsor told me that I should be a grateful alcoholic and always have "an attitude of gratitude" — that gratitude was the basic ingredient of humility, that humility was the basic ingredient of anonymity and that "anonymity was the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities." As a result of this guidance, I start every morning on my knees, thanking God for three things: I'm alive, I'm sober, and I'm a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. Then I try to live an "attitude of gratitude" and thoroughly enjoy another twenty-four hours of the A.A. way of life. A.A. is not something I joined; it's something I live.

From the book Daily Reflections

Writing this Gratitude blog has changed my life for the vastly better.  I still have problems with depression and balking, but they are a small fraction of how they used to be or what they would be like if I did not take consistent conscientious action to write what I am grateful for every day.  I spend much more time in joy, happiness, serenity and gratitude instead of resentment and anger.

I am extremely grateful to have made focusing on my gratitude in action a vital part of my daily routine for healthy self-care.


Bonding With Others

For the first half-dozen years in recovery, I thought I was missing a bonding molecule in my brain that allowed me to connect with others.  Back then, I was correct in that I did not bond well with others.  I am still an introvert, but my bonding and feeling connected with friends and others is fantastically better than how it used to be.

I now know that, like most alcoholics, I have an attachment disorder that led me to bond with the bottle or pipe instead of with other people.  Today my emotional and relational bonds with other people are the most important human condition in my quest for long-term sobriety. Instead of always hearing the difference and feeling apart from others, now I hear the similarities and feeling connected to others.

Watching Lea have problems connecting to others causes me to feel compassion and empathy for her.  By the same token, balking at doing the work required to get connected is not helping her situation in any way, shape or form. 

I remember having overwhelming trust issues that were difficult to overcome enough to allow me to trust the process.  I was blessed by having no viable alternatives that made for a simple choice between continuing to do what did not work or try a few simple suggestions that required a lot of scary change—that I did not have to do all at once.  Progress, not perfection.

I am grateful for the connections and bonds that I have formed with other members in the fellowship of AA that keeps me sober today.


Roger Ebert Reader on Addiction

FromThis is a 3800+ word article on Roger Ebert’s writings about alcohol, addiction, and recovery.  It is an interesting and insightful read at http://www.themorningnews.org/article/the-roger-ebert-reader-on-addiction


We went to a District 34 (Bellevue/Redmond/Mercer Island) workshop on the 12 Traditions this morning.  Funny how AA does things.  Lacking a convenient venue in District 34, the workshop was held in District 35-Kirkland.  One lady had a week of sobriety.  The majority of the audience likely had more than 15 years of sobriety.  At least two of the guys there got sober when they were 20 years old and are now going on 40 years of sobriety.  There were 50 chairs and packets—they were all taken by the time we got there.


I am grateful for the many wonderful role models, writers and speakers in AA that help me stay sober one more day at a time.


I'm Part of the Whole

At once, I became a part — if only a tiny part — of a cosmos. . . .
            As Bill Sees It, p. 225
                
When I first came to A.A., I decided that "they" were very nice people — perhaps a little naive, a little too friendly, but basically decent, earnest people (with whom I had nothing in common). I saw "them" at meetings — after all, that was where "they" existed. I shook hands with "them" and, when I went out the door, I forgot about "them."

Then one day my Higher Power, whom I did not then believe in, arranged to create a community project outside of A.A., but one which happened to involve many A.A. members. We worked together, I got to know "them" as people. I came to admire "them," even to like "them" and, in spite of myself, to enjoy "them." "Their" practice of the program in their daily lives — not just in talk at meetings — attracted me and I wanted what they had. Suddenly the "they" became "we." I have not had a drink since.
            From the book Daily Reflections
© Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.


We, Me and Lea, go the 9:30 AM Reflections meeting at the Alano Club every weekday and have done so for the last year.  Usually there are between 12 and 20 people at the meeting, making it slightly smaller than average.  What does make it unique is that it is a functional solution-based meeting primarily filled with newcomers and members with less than a year of sobriety. 

We had a great meeting this morning talking about it being a “we” program.  Erin has been going a little while longer than me and Lea.   Today, she had new sponsees sitting to her left and right with another young sponsee sitting across the room.  A year ago, Erin was lacking for sober friends.  Today she is a role model for woman in early sobriety wanting what she has.  

I pointed out all the “we” statements in the 9th step promises:  If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. we will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. we will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.


I am grateful to be a member of the “we” fellowship of AA.   All of my life I felt alone, and never more so as when I was surrounded by a crowd of people.  TToday I am no longer alone thanks to god and the fellowship of AA.

Choices Are Coming

I have been an activity slump for the last month.    The good news is the days are getting longer and there are more choices for activities that don’t involve going out in really cold rainy weather.  Acceptance is the key to my serenity even while doing less than a healthy level of activities.


I am grateful for increasing choices as the days get longer and warmer. 

Lunch With A Friend - redux

Mark and I have been going to lunch three or four times a year for almost a decade.  We always go to the same little teriyaki/lunch plate café in Woodinville. 

Having a relationship that consists of lunch with a guy friend is another new behavior in recovery.  It is fulfilling to talk with a friend with decades of sobriety and a very successful personal and professional life.  Mark has been speaking at local colleges and universities as a guest lecturer on being a successful businessman.  He wants to evolve towards speaking on how to have a rewarding life balancing work, family and community.  He is certainly a good role model for young adults preparing to enter the workforce.


I am grateful to have friends such as Mark to help anchor me in a flourishing life of recovery. 

Even The Blah Days Are Okay

Did the usual morning routine followed by a swim and grocery shopping at Cash-n-Carry.  The morning was a rainstorm and the afternoon eventually cleared up for a bit of sun. 

For the last four days I woke up in a crabby mood and then my magic magnifying mind spent the next 15 minutes trying justify where I was self-righteously right and had be wronged by others.  Then I got my mind back on track with some mindful meditation and had a pretty good day.  That is a lot progress from how I used to be with passive-aggressive sarcasm that got me what I most wanted to avoid—loneliness and isolation.

That reminds me of a prayer I got from my friend Merri to the effect of, “Well god, so far it has been a pretty good day.  Pretty soon now I am going to get up and need a lot of help dealing with others before they get on my last nerve.  Amen.”

I am grateful for the progress I have made having my actions display greater emotional maturity and being able to let go of a bad mood before I start taking to others thus avoiding destructive behavior and having to try to make amends for said damage.


Acquiring Courage

I have been regularly attending 12-step meetings for 15 years and firmly believe that the AA program works for those that work it.  Yet somehow I have trouble finding (or lack) the courage to put myself out there to work with newcomers as a way of life.  As a result, my sobriety has been one of punctuated equilibrium, or more nearly, I have relapsed multiple times over the years.

Tomorrow will be 11 months of sobriety.  People talk in meetings of having the obsession to use removed from them.  That has not been my experience. Thoughts of using come to me every day.  My latest conclusion is that I need to spend more time working directly with others in early sobriety as a way to have the obsession removed from my thinking.

Knowing the problem and having a solution is not the same as being in the solution.  For some reason, I am balking at putting myself out there to help newcomers.  I will pray for the courage to act on my convictions to get relief from the obsession to use.

I have a lot more courage today than how it used to be.  Progress, not perfection. 


I am grateful for what courage I have now and look forward to acquiring enough to enable me to put myself out there to be of service to newcomers as a way of lifting the obsession to use from my thoughts.

Commitment


Understanding is the key to right principles and attitudes, and right action is the key to good living.  12x12, p. 125

There came a time in my program of recovery when the third stanza of the Serenity Prayer — "The wisdom to know the difference" — became indelibly imprinted in my mind. From that time on, I had to face the ever-present knowledge that my every action, word and thought was within, or outside, the principles of the program. I could no longer hide behind self-rationalization, nor behind the insanity of my disease. The only course open to me, if I was to attain a joyous life for myself (and subsequently for those I love), was one in which I imposed on myself an effort of commitment, discipline, and responsibility. 
From the book Daily Reflections

I do a lot better job of taking right action now than how it used to be for most nearly all of my adult life.  There is still plenty of room for progress. 

My favorite description of AA used to be A spiritual program of action.  In the last year, I have expanded that be A spiritual program of right action being of service to and in relationship with others.

I am grateful for the program and fellowship for teaching me how to better take right action in my life.  

Left and Right Coast Storms

Boston is 300 miles south of Seattle and 2500 miles to the east on the (right) Atlantic coast.  Seattle is getting hit by two rainstorms on Saturday and then again on Sunday in the midst of 2+ weeks of gray Seattle mist.  Boston got a snowstorm yesterday and will have another one tomorrow with a strong chance of a two foot snow total.

While the rain and ceaseless gray can be tough to deal with leading to SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder or winter blues), it is a lot easier for me to get out and about in the rain than the snow.

25 years ago when I left Santa Barbara after finishing college, I hoped that global warming (now climate change) would make Seattle a slightly warmer place to live.  It is working out to something close to best case scenario.  It did not snow last year in Seattle.  This year, I stayed home for a couple of snow days which is a bit below my personal predicted average.

California in having the worst drought in recorded history causing already precarious water supplies to take a turn for the worse heading towards water wars.  So far it is a war of words, lawyers and bankrupting drought stricken farmers.   Soon it will expand to affecting food prices nationwide as 50% of the US winter vegetables come from California. 

It did not (at least, not functionally to me) rain my first year in Santa Barbara.  That was truly bizarre to me.  I have a strong bias against living in a place that does not get enough rain to replenish its water supply every year as in the case of Phoenix or Las Vegas.  As a Pisces, I like my water fresh, pure, cheap and plentiful.  The Cascade mountains do a wonderful job of making that happen for Western Washington.


I am grateful for rainstorms instead of snowstorms or droughts.

A Nice Valentine’s Day

Today was “St” Valentine’s Day [St added by Greg of the Catholic school education].  Today was a pleasant one following the usual routine of clinic, meeting, meet at Crossroads and then home.  Today, Greg joined us at the mall where we ate lunch after meeting with Charlie and Margie. 

I have been single most of my life.  Since elementary school, Valentine’s Day has been more of an anxiety creating concept than a celebration of love and romance.  Spending today with friends after a meeting worked out well after a short mild snarky start in the morning due to my resistance and rebellion to perceived Madison Avenue social expectations. 

Today’s meeting topic was on expectations.  For most alcoholics, an expectation is a premeditated resentment which is a dubious luxury to normal people and poison for an alcoholic.  It was a good meeting.  I brought cute little pink cupcakes to share with the group.


I am grateful for the love and support that I get from my friends in a variety of ways.

Neighborhood Gentrification

The former Safeway warehouse site on 124th Ave NE in Bellevue is in the process of being turned into a $3 billion mixed use/high-rise project to coincide with the arrival of light rail in Bellevue.

While most residents feel there is already too much traffic in Bellevue, it is much better to be a part of a vibrant growing community instead of, say, Detroit.  There is serious talk of turning square miles of abandoned Detroit housing back into farmland.  There isn’t a square mile available for development within 20 miles to the North, West or South of me.  Rural eastern King County has room to lots of room to add more buildings.  The only major east-west road, I-90 is already saturated with traffic and there aren’t any viable locations to build new freeways to the east or west.

I am grateful to live in an economically healthy area with well maintained infrastructure.



The Alano Club of the Eastside (ACES)

My friend T has done a wheelchair accessibility survey of all the AA meetings in District 34 which is Bellevue, Redmond and Mercer Island.  Of 137 meetings each week, 40% of them are held at the Alano Club.  The ramp to the bathroom is across 40 yards of gravel parking lot and then through a infrequently used small meeting room.  More of a hassle than it is worth for me to use.

T, Lea and I went to the ACES board meeting tonight.  T gave her report in her usual incredibly eloquent manner.  I made a couple of suggestions that would help make it better for me and then a blue-sky proposal to build a new ramp and deck on the SE side that would provide bathroom access without having to go through the small meeting room.

It would be nice to see these improvements done at ACES, but is not that big a deal to me compared with simply making sure that I stay sober.  Disagreements over money, property and prestige are a big trigger for me.  The big book states that resentments are the dubious luxury of normal men, but for alcoholics these things are poison.

I am grateful to have 40% of the local AA meetings within a mile of my home.  It certainly cuts down on travel time, gas bills and planning.


Improved Social Skills

I am an introvert with awkward social and relationship skills along with image issues.  I dealt with that by isolating myself from others.  It turns out that relationships with others/social skills is the most important thing in life.  Boy did I miss that boat.

My social skills are improving.  Especially in the last 15 months since I made my relationships with others a top priority for me to focus on as a way to improve the quality of my life.  There is plenty of room for improvement.

There is a long back story here on how I got behind in my relationships and growth was retarded from there.  That does not really matter much compared with what am I doing to make progress in my relationships.

It is uncomfortable for me to address my vulnerabilities (or skills) in relationships and so I am not going to write more at this time.


I am grateful for the best relationships of my life now and for the progress I am making on having better relationships that include both deeper and wider circles of friends.

Helping Others Help Themselves

Lea has gone to meetings with me for over a year.  We average just over a meeting a day.  She rarely shares in meetings and does not talk much with people after meetings except for after the meetings at the Alano Club with the other smokers.  She does get coffee for the meetings if the secretary has not already done so.

Last Thursday at the business meeting, Lea volunteered to co-secretary the meeting with Brittany.  This will work out well for both of them.  Brittany is also in early recovery.  They both need service work to help them get more involved in the program.  Lea, even more so than most of us, needs to expand her social horizons.

Tonight we made Toll House cookies with white chocolate chips and pecans.  That was fun…and filling.

Lea has 70 days today and will have been on methadone for 11 months on Wednesday.  Her life is dramatically different for the better than how it was a year ago.  Last week she got a call inviting her to go use drugs with a cocaine dealer and she chose to not do that.  That is a god-given miracle.  It is definitely new behavior.

Her next to projects are to learn how to crochet and to get help with her cyclic chronic pain.  Sandy gave her some tips on buying a starter kit and suggested making baby blankets for premies.  Lea loves babies, so this should work out well.

I have invested a lot of time and resources into helping Lea.  Only god knows what will happen to her learn term recovery.  Right now, she is doing really well.  It feels good to have helped someone else make such progress in getting her life together.  She has done a lot of positive work in the right direction to make this all happen. 


I am grateful for the opportunity to be of service to others and watch the progress they are making in their lives.  Helping others in and find recovery is the best thing I have done in my life.

Dinner at the Nordstrom’s Café with Toni and Leslee

Toni got a gift card for Nordstrom’s from colleague for Xmas.  She took us out to dinner at the Nordstrom Café before the meeting tonight.  The N. Café is one of the best dining values in Bellevue.  I had a delicious salmon filet with lots of grilled veggies for $12.  Lea had the Chinese chicken salad, Leslee had the grilled breaded chicken salad and Toni had a skirt steak.  All are less than $12 and delicious.  The café is a quiet place to dine on Sunday nights and very close to the meeting.  It works out really well on a variety of levels.

Before dinner, I bought a red hoodie from Penny’s to go with last Tuesday’s black hoodie.  While the cashier was in a bad mood, Lea and I had a good time with a burst of retail therapy and got a great price for a hoodie and three shirts.

Last night’s snow stuck around all day on the grass.  The sidewalk snow turned the slush in the afternoon and was clear by the time we left at 5 PM.  It was a nice snow day to read, watch TV, and hang around the apartment that cleared up by the time we needed to leave.  Perfect timing.

I am grateful that I live very close to downtown Bellevue and my driving destinations.  It is extremely convenient.  My apartment driveway is level to my front door.  That is a HUGE convenience for a wheelchair user to pack stuff in and out.  It is wonderful to have good friends to celebrate life with.  I really like Toni and Leslee.  Now I have a bright red hoodie—soon I will be a colorful dresser!


Snowed Out

We were going to the Live at Pine Lake speaker meeting tonight.  It was a snowing in a faint barely discernible way as we drove to Greg’s house in Issaquah.  Driving up the hill to his place, the snow had begun to stick on the grass and sidewalks.  At the stop sign by his house, there was snow on the road.  When Greg came out, we cancelled on going to the meeting at an even higher elevation on the Sammamish plateau. 

My car is rear-wheel drive and does not do well in the snow.  My wheelchair is even less functional with treadless tires designed to be used on a dry hard surface.  By the time we got home at 7, snow was starting to stick on the grass.

They weather forecast gave a 10% chance of snow.  I was a bit surprised to see that turn into snow on the ground.

After a four hour pause in my writing, there is 3 inches of snow on the sidewalks and more on the grass.   Skipping the meeting and coming home immediately was the correct decision.  I have no business driving around in snow if it can be avoided.  In my situation, it can almost always be avoided.

Back in the day, there was a time when I could not get home to my mobile home due to snow on the roads.  Sleeping the night in my truck while low on gas worked out okay back then, it is not an experience I would care to repeat now.

It was good that I went to a meeting this morning and bought a few groceries on the way home.  The snow should be gone by tomorrow afternoon.  It is pretty to see the yard turned into a winter wonderland of whiteness—especially when it will go away before it becomes a barrier to my getting out every day.


I am grateful to not have to drive in snow or even worse be stuck or wreck my car over an evening’s snowfall.  Traffic reports indicate hundreds of stuck cars and fender-benders out there.  It is better than good to not have that experience.  

Cooking Dinner

The vast majority of my cooking time, I am cooking something I have already cooked dozens if not hundreds of times before.  Tonight was spaghetti with hamburger made from hamburger, a jar of sauce, sliced olives, green chilies and seasoning with fresh cauliflower as a veggie (it needed to be cooked).

That might be an easy pedestrian meal to make, but there are many components in the making of that meal that are a total blessing.  I had not particularly planned on making that meal, those were food items on hand that either needed to be consumed, was easy or both.  The hamburger was a FDA inspected chub that I had cooked two days ago.   The cauliflower was in my refrigerator staying cool and fresh for a week.  The angel hair pasta had been on the shelf in the pantry for months.  The jar of spaghetti sauce had been in the canned-food cupboard for months.  My hot & cold running water is fantastically pure run-off from the Cascade Mountains that had been treated and fluoridated.  The piece of chocolate for dessert was an individually wrapped leftover from a Christmas gift.  Canned sliced olives have become a big favorite in the last six months—they are easy, nutritious and delicious in a cold pasta salad or a bubbling hot stew and every temperature between that.  My electric stove/oven has four burners.   My electricity is part of the Overlake hospital grid—it NEVER goes out.


For a simple catch meal of whatever was on the shelf that was easy and quick to make, there is a lot to be grateful for in this dinner.  Now I have leftovers for the weekend.  I am blessed to be free from food, water and energy insecurity.  Thank you god.

A Trip to the Seattle Art Museum

Most museums in Seattle allow free visits on the first Thursday of the month.  Greg, Lea and I went to the SAM today.  They was an interim exhibit of Pacific NW native art consisting of carved wooden masks, a few totem poles and such.  I have been wanting to make it to the free first Thursday for years.  Today we made it.  Figured out the origins of the Seahawk logo after seeing our 50th mask of that ilk…

Lea was had problems with chronic pains flaring up so we did not stay long.  We went across the street to the Pike Market Brewery and had lunch.  A couple next to us was from North Carolina.  They were certainly ahead of the curve on tourist season at the Market!  She was a nurse practitioner that liked research and travel.   They traveled the country going to medical conferences with a touristy timeline.  Nice people.


I am grateful for free visits to nice museums, friends to do things with, good restaurants and dry sunny (albeit it freezing cold 32°) days.

700,000 Fans Attend Seahawk Championship Parade in Seattle

The biggest crowd in Seattle history lined 4th Avenue from Seattle Center to Century Link field to celebrate Seattle’s first major pro sports championship in 35 years.  The previous large crowd was 300,000 people celebrating the Sonics NBA (basketball) championship 35 years ago. 

Seattle has grown a lot in the last 35 years.  Back then, there were no billionaires in the state.  Now we have a dozen or more thanks to Microsoft, McCaw Cellular and Amazon.

It was a cold sunny day with traffic jams lasting for hours with supporters trying to leave Seattle during rush hour.

It is great that the Seahawks won the Superbowl and that so many people had a chance to show their support for the Seahawks.

I am grateful that I did not have an appointment in Seattle today.  I am also grateful we have reasonably well-mannered fans that allowed this event to happen in a peaceful laidback Seattle way instead of crazy destructive soccer hooligans.


Retail Therapy in a Functional Way

The term retail therapy is a tongue-in-cheek reference to using shopping as a way to make ourselves feel better in an excessive manner. 

Lea and I went to Bellevue Square Mall today to buy some Seahawks gear.  The Seahawks store was a tiny couple hundred square feet or slightly larger the a cell phone kiosk in a mall.  Needless to say the selection was not good.  We soon left empty-handed.

We ended up down the mall at JC Penney’s where they where having a huge 50-70% off sale.  According to the receipts, we got $600 worth of stuff for $200.  I don’t know that the sale was that, but it was extremely good.  Lea had both arms full of stuff when we left the store.

We came home, had lunch and took a nap.  After some reading and TV, we headed out the door to go swimming.  My new Asus touchscreen Ultrabook (skinny Intel Laptop) was sitting outside waiting for me to unpack and plug-in.   I went through the startup basics and am writing my Gratitude blog while waiting for the updates to download.

Retail therapy is fun when done in moderation or for needed items, getting new stuff just to get new stuff does not light my fire.  Lea gets into retail therapy more than I do.  I am sure a big part of that was not having a secure living situation and so not being able to have a full set of girly accoutrements.  Now she pretty much has a full set of clothes, makeup and costume jewelry. 

We had a nice time shopping getting a hoodie sweatshirt for me, a  really nice Samsonite leather laptop bag at the Mall thrift store for $10, a  new mattress pad for my bed along with a shirt, purple tennis shoes and underwear for Lea.


I am grateful to have the money (and economic security) to buy what I need to make my life better, to take my cloud computing class, and help Lea enjoy being dressed-up in color coordinated ensembles.  Now I will go play with my new Asus. 

Forgiveness for Myself and Others

Lea and I are working our way through a Christian bible (redundant) oriented 12-step workbook.  We did not work on it in December and have worked on it a half-dozen times in the last two weeks.  We are almost done with the 8th step.  Tonight’s topic was on forgiving ourselves and others for the harm with have done to ourselves.

She has not been able to forgive a family member for abuse done her as a child.  One the most powerful techniques I know of is to pray twice a day for two weeks (longer if needed) for those that have hurt us so badly that we are unable to forgive them.   If they are alcoholic, we can pray for them to get everything they want which would be a total curse for all the alcoholics I know.

In my first year of recovery years ago, I prayed for my mother to get all she wanted and be happy.   I doubt it helped her much.  It did help me get past lots of resentment and anger that I was carrying around against a broken person with whom I did not interact with.  I still don’t talk with my mother but do not carry much resentment towards her from past events—as long as I stay away from her toxicity.

By far and away, I have done more damage to myself and my life than what others have done to me.  It is vital that I forgive myself the damage I have done to myself.  Like everybody else, I was doing the best I could with the tools that I had.


I am grateful for the relief I get from anger and resentments via the healing power of forgiveness towards myself and others.

Seahawks Won Superbowl XLVIII (48)

The Seahawks kicked off to Denver.  The first play was an errant snap that resulted in a 2-point safety.  They took the lead and never looked back winning big 43 - 8.  It was the first sports championship for a Seattle team since the 1979 Sonics won the NBA.


I am grateful to have a championship team in Seattle.  It was nice to watch them win the big game.

The Seattle Seahawks Play in the Superbowl Tomorrow

The Seahawks are in the Superbowl for the second time in the 40 year history of the team.  Greater Seattle is delirious with excitement and optimism.

I have a hard time identifying with their white billionaire owner and black multimillionaire players.  I am definitely not a fan of having had to buy them a new open air stadium to replace a much more useful Kingdome.  I have never bought a piece of “Official” overpriced team merchandise in my life.  If they win the Superbowl, there is a chance I might get Lea a Seahawk garment.  If they lose the Superbowl, the chances might be even better of getting an Official team garment following an immediate slashdown on prices!  


I am grateful the Seahawks are in the Superbowl and hope that they win tomorrow.  Either way, tomorrow night I will be chairing my home group meeting on the first step: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.