Having arrived as a brand new member at Stone Mountain in 1984, I was told that some groups were open and wanting new members. I was one of the fortunate members in that I knew quite a few members, both long-standing and new (like myself). When the time came for grouping, I, along with a buddy, decided to show up at one of the “open” groups. As it happened, there were several of us “newbies” that had made the same decision, the result being that we more than doubled the size of the existing group. The existing group members spent at least an hour expressing how overwhelmed they felt with the change. After listening to their ambivalence, one of us said, “Let’s start our own group.”, which we proceeded to do. That core group has expanded and contracted for more than 30 years now. Today we are a group of 12, meeting for several hours during Summer Workshop and one weekend in the winter. We do not meet to “group” at the I&C, but usually have a dinner together on one of the open nights. There was a period of time when I considered leaving to join another existing group, but decided it was best for me to stay and learn more about how to thrive in a long-term relationship. This has been the right decision for me.
