Family Reunion

[Giulia]

(You're all gonna be real tired of hearing about all our fun.  And if it makes you jealous - GOOD.  Might get you to the next reunion!)

How does one begin to describe this past weekend’s reunion in Nashville?  I guess I’d begin by saying it was everything I had hoped it would be.  Only much too brief.  There weren’t any surprises because our hearts have been read by each other for quite a while.  It truly was like a family reunion.  An easy, warm camaraderie with lots of laughter, many hugs, and a  beautiful solidarity of spirit.
One of the high spots for me  was the brunch and the reading of the blogs.  The intimacy of that is quite extraordinary and it tightened the bond between us.  I marveled at the ease with which people read their very personal words.  It's one thing to put up a blog in the safety of cyberspace about what you're experiencing, your raw emotions - quite another to read it out loud in front of your "family.”  But then I shouldn’t have been surprised, I guess.   The quitting journey is about facing the truth of our addition.  There is no hiding from it if you want to be free.  And when you trust your family enough, there's no NEED to hide.
There was such strength in that room.  It was a shelter full of champions.  Champions not only in conquering the Nicodemon, but champions of support.  And champions of Life in general.  
Skygirl (Nancy) and Strudel (Kathy) did an amazing job of organizing and setting up the room’s atmosphere to delight.  Sky made paper plate awards for each of us, capturing our on-line essences perfectly with just a few words.  We spent much time discussing how the community part of the site might be made more accessible.  How we might  better engage newbies in our family here.  
We actually spent a LOT of time talking about quitting over the entire course of the weekend.  We spoke of all of you who helped us on our journeys and how we might improve our assistance to others.  We all know that if it weren’t for each other and the education we’ve received about quitting, we would still be sucking on a cigarette in a corner out in the rain.
Speaking of sucking on cigarettes (Sarah beat me to this:) - it’s now time for Confessions of a Hooka Voyeur.  After the dinner at Margaritaville (which was a blast and BLASTING with a live band!) we walked around the totally packed streets, going in and out of stores, people watching.  It’s what I imagine Mardi Gras in New Orleans must be like.  It was a non-stop street party!  Eventually we were pretty tired puppies.  Some had already headed back to the hotels, but the remainder of us just wanted a quiet place to sit and have a last toddy and be able to talk.  We came upon one saloon that seemed to fit the bill.  Walked in the darkened arched entrance, found a table and all sat gratefully down.  The place was oddly almost empty.  And then we noticed a couple sitting in a booth along the wall.  And suddenly  someone came around with an enormous floor hookah (3' high?)  With a long hose, which they passed back and forth between them.  At times the guy blew on the glowing embers of the coconut shells used to heat the device, splaying sparks all over the carpeted floor.  I wondered why the place hadn’t burned down by now!  
The irony of this did not escape us.  Here we were, a bunch of quitters, ending up our night in Nashville at a Hookah bar.  $13.99 to suck on those things.  And all the flavors in the world.  Amazing.  What was interesting, though, that we noted on the streets, was there were very few people smoking.  And those that were - didn’t look too happy about it.  Damn but I’m glad I don’t have to do that any more!  
If you can save up your money to get to one of these reunions - do.  They are truly joyous experiences!

(Stac & Michwoman)

(Strudel)

(Pir8fan)

(our avatars)

(Storm & Sarah)

(Youngatheart)

(My plate from Sky)

(Shawn)

(freeneasy)

(Ms. J)

(djmurray)

(Rick M)

(Froguelady)

(Laura)

(Giulia)

(Sootie)

(Sky Girl)

(elvan)