My prayer time this morning got interrupted by my kids. Later in the morning I sat and rocked the baby and watched the rosary prayed on TV.

I had to watch the kids by myself while my wife went shopping. I did this in fairly good spirits but I did get resentful at a certain point. I got over it.

I got my kids to watch Saturday morning religious cartoons and kids programs. I have done this off and on for a little while but I persevered today.

There was this moment today when my wife and I started bickering. I finally got frustrated and gave her a final. She dropped it and started being friendly but not conciliatory. I stayed bitter and quiet. I picked up Daily Reflections just then and read the reflection for today,

Can we bring the same spirit of love and tolerance into our sometimes deranged family lives that we bring to our A.A. group? TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , pp. 111 -112

I made a choice to surrender and quit fighting.

My son and I watched Mexico win the international championship of the College World Series today and advance to the Championship.

A couple and their child came over to buy a doll house from my wife this afternoon. I was slightly irritable and I was not as friendly as I should have been. I feel now that I missed a great opportunity to be a good example of Christian charity.

In the evening my son and I had a great little batting practice at his school.

I heard one of my favorite priest speakers tonight say that addiction is a choice. He didn't just say it in passing, he was vehement about it. I thought about how this is "normie thinking". A person who has never experienced powerlessness cannot understand it completely.

He gave his reasoning and he didn't say anything profound (although he was passionate). He stated the typical case that by saying we are powerless we are not taking responsibility and we play the victim. He also stated that by going to meetings and identifying ourselves as addicts that we define ourselves as such for a lifetime. He stated that many people who have failed to stay sober in AA go to him.

I thought about how the main objective of understanding powerlessness is to fully realize and concede than one needs God's power, not to defer responsibility. In fact by stating that I am an addict I am stating that I fully accept and continue to accept the need to stay connected to God. By doing so I take responsibility for my recovery.

I wished that I could tell him about how people do not stay sober because they do not work the program. I wished I could tell him that the program is not meetings and dependence upon AA but that it is a set of spiritual practices and dependence up God. I wished I could tell him that AA led me back to God and back to the church.

I thought about how the idea that addiction is a choice is not new but is the age-old delusion of every addict and of many normies.

I don't fault the priest because this idea (delusion) is something that he is just as powerless over as I am over my addiction.

"I am carnal, sold into slavery to sin. What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate." Romans 7 14-15

Thanks be to God for power over my addiction.