Dear Diary....

Hi Joanna,

I think Harlan Coben has a pretty good idea of what gambling addiction is, and how the destruction it has already caused will often be added to be even more destruction. I'll have to keep an eye out for Queen of Spades, it's not one that I've read before. I get a few hours of reading in at lunchtimes and in the evenings, but I always wish there was more time!

Well done on continuing to make the right choice not to gamble.

Ryan

Thank you Suzanne; thank you Ryan. Continued good wishes to you both.

Day 68 and feeling good. Met a fox cub in the garden with a beefburger in his mouth - happy days!

Hello Baggins,

Love the wild life theme.

Thanks for the posting on my diary recently, made me feel good.

Day 21 now and have my beautiful son with me now for the first time since......

All feels good now and hope all my friends on this forum feel the same.

I hope you have a good weekend my friend and thank you again for your kind words.

Kick a demon today

Love peace.

Ha ha, excellent - great to have a fox cub in your garden. I guess at least the burger might keep him/her away from all the ducklings around at the moment. Unfortunately I only see giant slugs in my garden which I'm trying to steer away from the veg. Congrats on day 68.

Thank you Wayforward; thank you Granite - always nice to read comments on my Diary.

Granite - have you tried the beer method with your slugs? The wildlife in my garden certainly have sophisticated tastes - I once saw a squirrel running along the fence with a large mincepie in its mouth, still it was Christmas Day....

Day 70 today, whoopee! Thanks to Mr B for pointing out that this is 10 weeks (ha ha)- I hadn't thought about that and it seems longer now. Pleased with myself, but not smug... Good wishes to all.

Oops, a bit premature - Day 70 today (I think..), 'oh wotthehell' as Mehitabel would say - 'toujours gai, toujours gai' - roll on my century!

Day 71 - did something last night I have been meaning to do for a long time but never had the funds because of stupid gambling: arranged a monthly direct debit to a favourite charity. I am not saying this to appear 'good', but it does feel good to be able to do something like this after throwing away so much on those ridiculous slot machines. :o)

Joanna

Simply I salute you.

To gift something to others less fortunate to ourselves is testament to how forefilling recovery is.

I often stop to gift the homeless the change in my pocket,for no other reason than I can.

f**k it could have been me,all because I let gambling rule the roost for many years.

Keep making the right choice

Enjoy it's rewards.

for me they are far greater than the 'buzz' from any winning punt.

Abstain and maintain

Duncs stepping forward never back

Thank you Duncs - yes, you are quite right - the 'buzz' from doing something worthwhile, either with your time or money, beats all those false 'highs' from gambling. The charity is 'Sightsavers' - 50 pays for a child's cataract operation, and 28 can treat a whole village for river blindness. It certainly concentrates the mind when I think how thoughtlessly I used to let such sums slip through my fingers into the pockets of all those rich fat-cat gambling bosses!

Hi, and good evening,

Thanks for posting on my diary recently. Congratulations on the new addition to your family.

Hope your well and still feeling strong, 30 days today, so I will be celebrating this weekend as I am sure you will be with your family.

Congrats again and stay strong.

Kick a demon today

Love Peace

Many thanks Wayforward - hope you are going from strength to strength.

Day 75 (I think!). I'm finding that I am thinking less and less about gambling as the days go by which means that I often forget to post on the site. I pray this is a good sign and that the dreaded gambling bug is out of my bloodstream, but I mustn't forget how easy it is to succumb so must not be complacent....

Morning baggins,

Hope you and your family are well on this glorious day.

Since I achieved a whole month of being gambling free I thought a celebration was in order.

Met up with a few close friends yesterday and watched footie on TV, happy days. It was strange really, all my close mates are aware of my addiction and support me. However, some of the group do like to have the occasional bet on the football result.

Anyways, before the drinks started to flow.. I made it clear to all not to stop popping into see Mr Hill or Mr Coral on my account.

Being complacent: at the start of this journey I put a photo of my son in my wallet, every time its opened, I see my beautiful son, that is my totem not to gamble. When the drinks kick in all seems great and the demons try to get the better of you.. Temptation was there to be honest, but I know that giving in is not an option for me, I stayed strong and had another pint and forgot all about gambling.

All in all I had a great day with no gambling and change left over. feeling a bit rough though...

Kick a demon today

Love peace

Hi Joanna

I never got back to you about the slugs in my garden - yes, I use the beer method and it seems to work a treat, although one or two slugs have made it through the defences onto my bean plants.

I felt inspired by reading your post about giving to charity. Gambling and debt sadly have made me quite selfish. It's not just money - gambling makes me selfish with my time too. So it's great for me to read about your sense of freedom and joy in giving to others - hope to be doing the same myself very soon.

Thank you wayforward; thank you Granite.

Wayforward - so glad you are enjoying life in the 'real' world instead of that awful twilight 'virtual' world we have all been part of.

Keeping your little son's photo in your wallet is a wonderful reminder of your new life and hope for the future. Blessings.

Granite: Glad the slugs are being kept at bay (almost). I wish we could say the same for the gambling industry 'slugs' (aka owners/bosses) - but I wouldn't use the beer method for them - the old hatpin treatment would be more satisfying!

re. the charitable giving and tying in with wayforward's photo reminder, I have a little picture of a young child with trachoma (that awful eye disease where the lashes grow inwards) on my computer - if that doesn't remind me not to waste my money on slots, nothing will! Blessings to you too.

Joanna

(Day 77, according Mr Brightside, and I'm not arguing with him!) :o)

Whahay - 80 days of sanity!

Happy day with lots of gummy smiles from my baby granddaughter. Bliss!