*August 17th*

We sometimes forget what a painful experience it was to come to our first Parent Intervention Meeting. Remember the whirling thoughts, the fears, the uncertainty? Uneasy questions came crowding into our minds: "Is it the right thing to do?" - "What will my kid say when we return home?" - Am I disgracing my family by admitting that my child has a problem bigger than I know how to figure out?" - "Although it is said the meetings are confidential, and this trust is sacredly guarded, what if still someone finds out I was here?"

But what is true, every member understands that no word of the proceedings must ever go beyond the meeting room, and especially that no names should ever be mentioned.

Today's Reminder
The new comer to the Parent Intervention Team meeting feels comforted and safe when he or she learns that one can talk freely without fear of having anything repeated. The new members, both of parents and children, deserve this assurance. We are committed to it by ethical standards, as well as by our personal need for protection against careless gossip.

"Tradition Twelve of Alinon: Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles above personalities."

[Taken and fashioned from "One Day At A Time In Al-Anon" by Jim Hogue, MA, MFTI, 8-17.]