Wednesday, December 07, 2011

9,997

This is my 9,997th day of sobriety.  I think I will try to make it as special as the other 9,996 days that God has blessed me with.  In fact, instead of having oatmeal for breakfast, I have made rice pudding and it is currently baking in the oven.

I am finding my mornings increasingly unmanageable.  I am "sleeping in" until after 5 a.m., and that does not leave enough time for blogging and getting a workout and getting to a meeting.  This morning I intended to go swimming, but time has run out as I have sat at this computer, so I will try to get to the pool after work.  Knowing that by the time I am done working for the day I don't want to do anything.

Last night I searched the local AA central office website for a meeting nearby.  I have gotten into such a habit of going at 6:30 a.m., I don't even know what meetings meet here at night.  Imagine my surprise when I saw a meeting I used to go to years ago, not even a mile away.  I thought they stopped meeting!  I was wrong, they only stopped meeting on Thursday, not Tuesday.  I drove for one minute and got to the meeting.  And frankly, I thought the meeting was terrible.  The woman who chaired the meeting talked eight times!  Eight!   There was a new woman there who probably talked eight times as well.  She can be excused for that, but she will have a rude awakening if she goes to another meeting and finds that behavior is considered unacceptable in other places.

So, I will probably keep going to that meeting.   It is not my "cup of tea" but that is OK.  It is good to switch things up every now and then.

I went to the dentist yesterday afternoon and got some really upsetting news.  The hygienist really made me feel good when she praised my clean teeth and healthy gums.  Then the dentist came in and told me about a terrible cavity that will need a root canal and a crown - if I'm lucky.  Otherwise I will need an extraction and a bridge.  They gave me a little bag with a toothbrush and toothpaste and ushered me into the little "financial arrangements" room.  Well, I am looking at $1,100 for best case scenario, and $3,600 for worst case scenario.  Oh, and this is AFTER the insurance pays their share.  You know, I no longer have money hanging out so I don't exactly know how I am going to do this.  I told them I had to go away and figure this out .  And it is one of my front teeth!  It is not an option to lose this tooth.  Well, I guess it is an option, but not a good one.

There is a woman I sponsor who calls me with tragedies every day.  I always tell her that God will see her through.  I have to explain sometimes though that God isn't going to see that we have tons of money and no problems.  But God sees us through in that he will give us the grace to get through what we need to get through.  And all kinds of wonderful things happen when you place your trust in him.

I will trust him again today.  Because he has never let me down.

13 comments:

Syd said...

Ugh on the dental woes. I know that there is a solution. I almost went to a meeting this past week that is totally dominated by a person who does not personify the traditions of Al-Anon in my opinion. But I listened to the voice within telling me that I best go to meetings that are safe and not filled with gossip and other stuff that makes me feel bad.

Dr24Hours said...

Mary! For that cost, you can fly to southern Mexico, get first class dental care and a vacation. My sister takes her kids to mexico all the time for dental care. It's 100% the quality you get here, and a root canal would be about $80-$100.

Elizabeth said...

Oh! I love your outlook. 9,997 days shows well on you!

dAAve said...

Just keep smiling!

Simply Me said...

As the days get shorter, I also find it difficult to manage my mornings. I try to be gentle with myself when I don't get to everything done on my list.

Anonymous said...

Mary--I had 2 dentists say my tooth had to be pulled-the first one did a lousy root canal-That was because they did NOT have the expertise to save it and wanted to put money in their pockets...I went to a 3rd dentist who is world renowned--People--dentists come from all over the world to learn and have dental work & implants done...Get some other opinions from other dentists. His name is JEFFERY VAN HOOS, D.M.D.--webpage www.bettersmile.com I bet he knows a dentist in Colorado who might know what to do. You can call his office..They are good, nice people. He even did dental work on a live Bear! Under anesthesia of course.

Lou said...

My mornings are also unmanageable. I think I need to get up at 3:30 am, to get to work on time.

My husband had a root canal one year ago, and tomorrow has to go in for the 3rd re-do!! He should have gone to the above commenters dentist.

Mary Christine said...

You know, I had a cut-rate dentist whose work I am now paying to have redone. I actually trust this new guy even though he is pricey. One of my sponsee's is a hygienist and says I can't do better than him - he is one of the best. But he sure costs. Still don't exactly know what I am going to do, but I am working on it.

Pammie said...

Oh Mary, it's so odd to read this right at this moment. I just sat down at the computer, I have been in the shower praying and I came away with the feeling that God has never let me down and I felt the freedom we get by handing all our worries to him to figure out in his own time and way.

Bar L. said...

Dental work is SO EXPENSIVE. I hope something comes up to help you out with the cost.

Rice pudding sounds really good :)

Mary LA said...

Sympathy on the dental woes and costs -- I'm sure you can make a difference at that meeting which seems to have gone astray.

Furtheron said...

congrats on the day... any day is a miracle for us.

Anonymous said...

Yikes! That sounds like no fun, but your attitude is inspiring. Thanks for writing.