Once upon a time there was a little girl (who was actually a full-grown woman) who got her first sober job as a Wedding Chapel Assistant for $11 an hour. This grown woman was very excited about her new job, but she had a problem---she was always late. She would rush, rush, rush down the long employee hallway and run, run, run across the casino floor to get to the wedding chapel and then be out of breath as she clocked in behind the catering kitchen—at 9:01 or 9:07 or 9:15. Yikes! She was supposed to be at work at 9:00! This full grown woman did not know this yet, but she was suffering from UNMANAGEABILITY. She would later learn this when she did her First Step. However, this UNMANAGEABILITY would get her in trouble when the boss called her in to talk to her about her tardiness.
Her boss, a kind lady who was quite a few years younger than she, told her that she had to be on time or she would be written up. The full-grown woman felt humiliated by this conversation and called her sponsor for a talk. Her sponsor told her she needed to get going to work earlier so she would be on time from now on.
This grown woman began to realize that her tardiness was really just self-centeredness in disguise! She still thought everything was about her and did not realize how hard it was for her boss—the kind lady—to have to speak to her about it. This grown woman also realized that she had a pattern of tardiness at work. In fact, in the last job she had before getting sober as a night school teacher she was also called in for being late to work. This grown woman, who was still very far down in her disease, quit that job right then and there because she felt so disrespected.
This time she was sober and willing to follow directions, so she kept that job, was always on time from that point forward, and was recommended by her boss for a promotion to be a Wedding Coordinator at Caesar’s Palace.
Happy Saturday! I never publish on a Saturday, but I wanted to publish this particular reading, which is one of seven “Once Upon a Time” stories from With Gratitude. the daily reader I published in 2022. As these are very unusual readings, telling a fairy tale-like story, I wanted to provide a little context about the how and why of “Once Upon a Time” in my book.
I have always cherished Al-Anon’s first daily reader, which we affectionately call the ODAT (actual title is One Day at a Time in Al-Anon). It was first published in 1968 and was written solely by one member, Alice B., who was 72 years old when she wrote it. AFG and WSO made a decision to preserve this reader in its original form, deciding to make zero changes to it to protect its historical authenticity (similar to the first 164 pages of A.A.’s Big Book). In the ODAT, there are eight “Once Upon a Time” stories, which I thought were so personal and yet unique. I have never seen anything like them in the many readers and devotionals I have read over the past two decades.
Therefore, I decided to include some of my own experiences in these little fairy tales. It is extremely hard being new in program. The above reading reveals how much I struggled with my character defects once I became sober, and this is because I am a real alcoholic. When I put down the bottle, my life actually became worse—more unmanageable. This was temporary, however. Once I started working the Twelve Steps with my sponsor 90 days in, I started getting better. I have had highs and lows and many more chances to work steps for myself since then, and the result is that I always see my powerless and unmanageability—and how my thinking and actions will always lead me back to that first drink.
Enjoy this weekend, and your life, one day at a time. -Jamey M.