The Royal Slippers

Relapse:  The recurrence of a disease after apparent recovery.

Relapse is probably the worst topic ever brought up in a meeting.  The chairman yesterday read from Step Nine - being the Ninth Step it comes right after Step Eight but it's not quite as far as the 10th Step - to establish the topic and then added, jokingly: "Or talk about whatever you want, relapse, whatever . .  . "Of curse everyone talks about relapse which is a compelling problem and much more fun to pore over than our direct amends Step, a very hard Step to complete - maybe the hardest of them all.

It's not like it's an important Step.  Just because The Promises start up in earnest after we are half way through with our amends . . . 

I'm not sure about the whole concept of relapse, anyway.  Relapse is something that happens and is out of your control  You relapse with cancer or leukemia.  It took me about a year to finally sober up after I started coming to meetings.  I used to say that I relapsed many times during that time.  Now I say this: "I continued to drink and blow weed during that first year."  It's simpler and it's the truth.  Frankly, I wasn't finished drinking so I didn't do the work I needed to do to stay sober.

I didn't relapse.  I got drunk.