If you are out there and haven't been able to attend a meeting-or even if you have, but still find yourself "yo-youing," but it isn't. The road is full of hills and valleys and you are first up and then down, thinking for a day or two that you have this thing under control only to find yourself down in the valley again the next day. What you can't see when you are in the middle of all this is that each time you slip back, you don't slip all the way back to the bottom of the howl. Each time you climb out, you make yourself some toeholds that enable you to give yourself a boost. You eventually learn that there are some things you can do to help yourself. These toeholds help you to inch your way to the top again. Also, they stop your slide so that you don't have to go to the bottom of that hole each time. WE make progress in such small amounts that it is difficult somethimes for us to realize that we are progressing. Try not to judge your progress from day to day, week to week or even month to month. I find that it is bettedr for me to judge my progress from year to year. That way i Can better remember how I was at handling a particular event last year as compared to how I handled that event this year. I Can see my progress, and I am again encouraged to know that I am moving ahead. I'm thankful for my toeholds.

By Mary Cleckley

TCF Atlanta, GA