Twelve Step Reflections

Addiction Recovery, Healing, and Prevention - Notes from Nannette

The Keepsake Catastrophe – Step 12 Practice these principles in all you do

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I’m not a big keeper when it comes to most things, but I have absolutely no judgment when it comes to photos of my children and the paper treasures they’ve generated over a family lifetime. Anything that reminds me of how much I treasure them is a treasure to me—photos, programs, certificates, ... Read More

The Other Shoe – Step 12 Service

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My daughter-in-law and I went together to buy a gift for my son’s birthday.  We bought him a new pair of new running shoes.  They were quite expensive, but he is very much in need of shoes that can take a beating.  I joked with him yesterday that I bought him “a shoe” for his birthday.  We had a ... Read More

“Happy Are We” – Step 3 Trust in God

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We live in a time when toys have buttons that awaken magical electronic powers.  As we search the retail shelves for just the right toy, even grownups are taken in by the invitation on packaging that reads, “Try Me.”  One day, just after Christmas, I was waiting while my mother stood in the return ... Read More

“We Don’t Ever Have To Put Christmas Away” Step 3 and 12

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This was the first Christmas in years I have been completely devoid of the desire to “take down Christmas,” as we say.  The first year I remember feeling this way was my first baby’s first Christmas.  My mother-in-law had always decorated her tree with little birds.  She was growing older and was ... Read More

Lessons From the Stable All Year Long

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Now that we’re on the “other side” of Christmas I thought I would write a little piece about taking Christmas into the new year. My latest post is called “Lessons From the Stable All Year Long.”  It’s highlighted on my daughters Kendra’s wonderful Blog “The Things I Love Most” as part of her “25 ... Read More

Christmas Eve Instruction on Finding the Perfect Gift – Perfectionism and Step 1-3

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If I wasn’t “finishing up” at Target or All-A-Dollar or Kmart at 5:45 on Christmas Eve, I guess the season wouldn’t be quite the same.  On December 24, 2002 I was given the following insight.  It has made a difference in every Christmas Eve thereafter. Exhausted and touching on frantic, I completed ... Read More

“Falling” Into Christmas – Step 10 – Daily Accountability

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Quoting my daughter…“Sometimes I think the most constant thought in the mind of a little boy is, "What should I do next to drive my mother crazy?” My daughter called and related the following experience to me.  She said she might call it, “Wild Boys on the Loose,” “Irresponsible Mothers,” ... Read More