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bluidkiti · 09-10-2013, 09:25 AM

From the Book

Things My Sponsors Taught ME
By Paul H.

On Having an A.A. “Birthday”

Congratulations, but you really ought to know

that the Nth year is the dangerous one.

The “Nth year” is this year. The message is that the dangerous year of sobriety is the present. Years past are either successful or otherwise, and years to come aren’t here yet. There is a rather somber aspect to this quote, or at least it seemed so to me when I first heard it. My sponsor was having a meeting at his house in observation of his eleventh A.A. birthday. His sponsor, who at the time was 23 years sober, made the quote. I had less than a year of sobriety at the time, and it bothered me to think that the potential for relapse would exist as long as 23 years.

From my present vantage point, with about fifteen years under my belt, it is sobering to realize that my recovery is an ongoing process that can be interrupted anytime I pick up a drink, no matter how many years I may have with the A.A. program. I don’t worry about this a lot, but I do spend some time on each of my A.A. birthdays remembering that the key word for me is “recovering,” not “recovered.”

Please feel free to share your Experience, Strength, and Hope

09-10-2013, 09:25 AM	#11
bluidkiti Administrator Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 70,587	From the Book Things My Sponsors Taught ME By Paul H. On Having an A.A. “Birthday” Congratulations, but you really ought to know that the Nth year is the dangerous one. The “Nth year” is this year. The message is that the dangerous year of sobriety is the present. Years past are either successful or otherwise, and years to come aren’t here yet. There is a rather somber aspect to this quote, or at least it seemed so to me when I first heard it. My sponsor was having a meeting at his house in observation of his eleventh A.A. birthday. His sponsor, who at the time was 23 years sober, made the quote. I had less than a year of sobriety at the time, and it bothered me to think that the potential for relapse would exist as long as 23 years. From my present vantage point, with about fifteen years under my belt, it is sobering to realize that my recovery is an ongoing process that can be interrupted anytime I pick up a drink, no matter how many years I may have with the A.A. program. I don’t worry about this a lot, but I do spend some time on each of my A.A. birthdays remembering that the key word for me is “recovering,” not “recovered.” Please feel free to share your Experience, Strength, and Hope __________________ "No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving.