Welcome, 2009!

My second sober New year! And I only got to bed at 3am and feel a little hoarse from talking too much and singing Auld Lang Syne and kissing strangers in the moonlight… it was a wonderful party and the most fun I have had in ages.

 

The puppies are sleepy and have upset stomachs, probably because somebody gave them tidbits from the table despite my earnest pleas to the guests to NOT feed the little dogs.

 

Mary: ‘You’re saying she leapt out of a broom cupboard and seduced him there and then? Elmarie, don’t feed pretzels to the dogs, please. What happened next? Neil darling, don’t do a Highland reel on the kitchen table until we’ve cleared it! Elmarie, don’t feed the puppies! Who wants second helpings of meringue and strawberries? Yes, I’d love to dance, but not to that Coldplay song again…Malcolm, don’t give Camembert cheese to my dogs or I shall ring your neck! Tell me again about that disastrous honeymoon, it sounds like something out of  OnChesil Beach — why did you think Viagra ould save the day if the see-through nightie was of no use? Elmarie, don’t feed the puppies I beg you!’

This morning I am going to laze around and doze on the sofa watching old BBC reruns, then go up to the mountains for a swim in the river this afternoon.

I don’t have the energy for resolutions or plans or great self-improvement schemes. I’m just grateful for today, 24 hours of sobriety and hopefulness and gratitude.

 

When I think back over 2008, one of the highlights of the year was meeting up with my first sober online buddy. I shall call her Janny: she and I had exchanged comments on an AA forum and emailed. We arranged to meet up at the lunchtime meeting in Pimlico. I got there first and saved her a seat, and she came in with blonde hair flying, a dazzling smile. Exactly as I had imagined her. We began talking as if we had known one another all our lives.

 

The English are not touchy-feely people. She is Californian and very touchy-feely. I am from Africa and fond of cuddling and patting. We laced fingers and hugged and patted away all through the meeting while the other stiff-upper-lip AA members all looked at the floor, frowning at the impropriety. The man I was with is not touchy-feely either and was amazed to see two women who had never met before fall into one another’s arms like long-lost sisters.

 

Af ter the meeting we went off and ate Mexican tortillas and nachos and caught up on one another’s lives and ever since then we have stayed close and emailed and phoned, scarcely separated by the ocean between two continents. The bond between two recovering alcoholics is for me the most  immediate and powerful connection I know.

 

This for me is the magic of both AA and the Internet.

 

“While our literature has preserved the integrity of the A.A. message, sweeping changes in society as a whole are reflected in new customs and practices within the Fellowship. Taking advantage of technological advances, for example, A.A. members with computers can participate in meetings online, sharing with fellow alcoholics across the country or around the world. In any meeting, anywhere, A.As share experience, strength, and hope with each other, in order to stay sober and help other alcoholics. Modem-to-modem or face-to-face, A.A.s speak the language of the heart in all its power and simplicity.’

 

Modem to modem, heart to suffering heart, we can all reach out to one another to share our experience, strength and hope. Here’s to a sober and growth-filled 2009!