A Quiet Routine

My name is Helen, I am an alcoholic and I am writing to share my personal experience of recovery during lockdown here in Spain. When I look back at the initial months of strict confinement, I almost feel a certain nostalgia for the quiet routine I got into on a daily basis - phone calls, housework that had been put off, Steps Ten and Eleven and the highlight of going out shopping for a friend and getting a takeaway coffee at the baker's! A rare find but then again, I never did have trouble finding a drink when I needed one.

I have to admit that I got quite used to life with fewer distractions; yet when more freedom came back in, I grasped those possibilities and really relished spending time with dear friends once again. I wasn't able to attend video-conference meetings and very often I asked, and continue to ask myself, whether I am still ‘in the middle of the bed’. My main tool in order to stay connected has been the telephone and I reverted to the long phone calls I used to value so much as a newcomer. I thank my Higher Power for that training! Another anchor was and is a weekly Big Book study over the phone with my dear friend and sponsee. The formal structure of that I find very reassuring.

Whatever happens in my life, one day at a time, I pray to stay close to my beloved Fellowship and not forget where I came from.

HELEN, Fuengirola