It’s not their fault, but our friends and family outside of AA just don’t understand what this disease is like for us. Even alcoholics not in AA don’t get some of it, because they haven’t had their thinking validated and challenged through conversations with hundreds of others. Anyway, here’s what brought this up for me.

This past weekend my father-in-law visited us. (Have I mentioned that my adorable spouse is also in AA? Knowing that would help this story. Maybe.) We often go out to Sunday breakfast when he visits, but I told him that this weekend we both planned to go to the Sunday morning meeting, as it was a medallion meeting and adorable spouse just hit a milestone. His response? “Oh.”

Which reminded me that I got a similar response from my siblings when I shared my fourth anniversary with them. They just don’t get it.

And then, at the medallion meeting, I saw how everyone clapped and celebrated each medallion recipient, whether it was for 3 months or 30 years. Why? Because we get it. This stuff is hard, and failure is fatal. So every win, every 24 hours, is a BIG win. I’m so glad I found this community of people who DO get it.