1 year anniversary

April 8th is my 1 year anniversary of being gamble free! I am not sure what to think at this point - I had made it about 8 months gamble free before, then fell back into the hell of gambling.  But the 1 year anniversary seems to represent something more than 365 days of "just for today I will not gamble".  Maybe it is because the first few days, weeks and months when your mind body and even my car wanted to follow the old patterns seemed to take forvever to get through.  So I made it past the "withdrawal period" and eventually the cravings went away.  Then i could log on and be reminded of the hell gambling causes in so many peoples lives and recommit to not gambling.  I could read a post from Eastwester on my phone and be reminded why I couldn't even think of stopping at the casino even for a few dollars or minutes.  And I still know that there are plenty of people gambling that want help, they want to quite, they want to live life again without the nagging issues that gambling causes and I know that I have to stay strong for them, I have to show them that you can make it through and move forward.  Those first few days weeks and months are tough but you can make it.  Eastwester will tell you it is WORK and it is HARD but it does get better.  I am happy to say I know have a balanced checkbook.  I haven't bounced a check, paid an overdraft fee, and I have save hundreds of dollars of ATM FEES alone in the past year and it feels good.  I know that the battle continues not only for myself but in helping others.
Thank You to everyone for the support - whether you know it or not I was listening, paying attention and moving forward with your help!