My cousin Gina. Whom I called my aunt Gina was so brave. She was a world traveler, a proud Quaker, an animal lover, a writer and in her latest years she was an artist. She was my very dear friend. She battled Parkinson’s among other things but she always had a positive attitude and she always loved her hugs. She felt that hugs would help save the world. She knew me drunk and was so proud that I got sober and continued to stay sober one day at a time. She was a great story teller and she loved cards and any game really. Mostly she loved to laugh. She made me laugh often. She brought women together and showed us that we are all strong. Oh and boy did she have a sweet tooth!! Gina got Covid and was very sick in the hospital for 9 days when she was released to a rehabilitation facility where she died early morning yesterday in her sleep. I wasn’t prepared even though she was old. Even though her soul was stuck inside a body that wasn’t working. I’m sure you can all understand that yesterday when I heard the news the first thing that came to my mind was going to the bad news store to buy my choice of booze. Instead I called my brother. He’s obviously not my sponsor but I knew that that would be enough to get me through wanting to drink.
So I’m grateful to have the tools to make better choices now that I’m sober. Drinking would have just made everything worse. It is never the answer because it would absolutely kill me. I’m grateful for my special relationship with Gina in life. Grateful that she’s not suffering here anymore. I will miss our visits and hugs. Life on life’s terms is just so hard to handle. Somehow with a little of help I can somehow manage it and am learning how to even enjoy life. But for now I’m going to allow myself to feel sad. I’m going to stay connected, goto meetings, and do all the things I practice everyday to stay sober. Thanks for listening and!
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Megan, I'm sorry for the loss of a loved one. I'm praying for you. I'm so grateful your brother was there to help you. Kudos to you for not drinking.
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