moving, with a year sober

[cameo]

does anyone out there have any advise for staying sober in a tough move??
sobriety has brought around the needed sale of my house, the closing of a buisness and the loss of a love (active drinker) i feel god moving in my life and this move is a god thing.....left to my own devises, well, that's not a good thing. so i am taking a leap of faith, have just celebrated a year, am working on my 4th step and am afraid of loosing contact with the program. well, guess i'm afraid of just about everything, but this move is hitting hard. anyone esle done anything along this line???
thanks.

[anniemac]

Hi Cameo ~

Good question, and it's great that you're thinking of wanting to stay connected.

Do you know where you'll be moving to? If that hasn't been decided yet, perhaps you can think in terms of availability of meetings before you select your new location. If it's already been decided, maybe you can get a hold of their meeting list in advance, and plan out a week's worth of meetings so once you get there, you'll have a plan, and that's easier to follow through on than just winging it. Maybe you could even contact the Intergroup office in that area and ask for a phone call from an AA member in your new town, so you can have a contact in advance of your move.

And if you can afford the phone calls, there's nothing wrong with keeping in touch with your current sponsor, once you move, to help you with the transition.

How soon are you moving?

Best wishes with it ~

Anne

[Dallas]

Hello Cameo!!! Welcome to the site... and congrats on your year sober!!!

I can remember how "un real" it felt for me... when I completed my very first year sober! I was living in Southern California, and when we got a year sober... we received a birthday cake, with a candle on it... and the group would sing "Happy Birthday" to us!!! I can still remember seeing that candle and the cake... in disbelief... that I could have made it a whole year sober!!!! I did some happy crying that night, that's for sure!

Moving in sobriety? Yep. I've had some experience with that. It's not such a big deal.... unless we make it a big deal. And, with a little planning and preparation... it can go really smooth. The fellowship... the meeting formats... and the way they do things in different areas can be different than what we might be used to... but, the bottomline is, that it's still A.A. (even if they do it a little different).

Just take your God and your Big Book with you... locate the Intergroup or Central Office (if the new area has one)... and get a meeting schedule. Go to as many meetings as you can "immediately when you get there!" That's important!!! If you wait to go to meetings... you might find too many excuses to keep you away from the meetings and the fellowship!

Get to know as many of the A.A.'s as you can in the new area. Look for ways to get involved in service work... if they don't have a job for you, then ask them if you can be a greeter, or a coffee person, or a setup or clean up person, or the cookie person... or something! That will help you to feel "a part of" the fellowship in the new area.

Also... remember to take a phone list with you, with the numbers of your A.A. friends (and sponsor)... from the area that you are leaving. Call them regularly. Keep in touch with them regularly. Send them post cards and let them know how you are doing! (That's called... being considerate... because our A.A. friends tend to be concerned about us, and they sometimes start worrying... when they don't hear from us!).

If you do those things... I'm sure you will have no problem staying sober, safe, and sane... and your move will more than likely be a happy and joyous experience.

Also... you can keep in touch with us here! Just log on -- and you're with us! We'll be supportive of you, too. And, we may have friends near the new area that you decide to move to!

I hope that helps!

Dallas

P.S. One more thing... When you get to the new location... immediately begin looking for another alcoholic that you can help! That will help you more than anything else!!! And, it works... when everything else may seem to fail!

[musicmode]

Yip...pretty much what Dallas said. I've moved....4 times in sobriety...I understand the feeling you have. Set firm in my mind was that the first thing I was going to do was find the meetings...if not listed in the directory (yes, gang...been known to happen, believe it or not), phone the hospital...they'll either have the times/location..and they might even have a contact number. AA is a fabulous way to meet and get to know people in a new place, and...instantly..people that "know" you because...they're alcoholics, too. You may find that, the first meeting you go to...might happen that no one stands up to greet you--don't let that shake ya...look at the table, quick to see who's chairing the meeting, walk up, extend your hand and say it: My name is (Anne), I'm an alcoholic. Remember...willing to go to any lengths right? Another thing I was "coached" on prior to my first move away from my first home group...they may not conduct their meetings the way you have grown accustomed to...don't let that throw ya, neither...it's kind-a like a "when in Rome" theory...it's a great ground to check up how well we are at acceptance. Be willing...to be the student and not the teacher; don't go in there & walk out thinking "I don't like this group--that's not the way we did things back in (name of town)"...I was 'coached', and I went into the new place(s) without any expectations other than...I need this meeting to help me stay sober.

By now, you've prob'ly moved? Lookin' at the date, I was movin' (4th move in sobriety), too. If there's one thing about AA, we're everywhere...thanks to Bill W., and the first few.

Peace and...as my (at the time) 3 year old daughter said in passing as I was packing for the first move, and feelin' overwhelmed...Easy Does It...this stuff's so simple that a 3 year old can know what to say at the exact right time.

Anne