LB, the wiseness will just be a passing phase don't worry.
I think the thing thats just struck me is that if you (I mean us...not you LB!!!) are gonna go through the hell of stopping drinking only to put yourself into positions where you are gonna drink...well you might as well stop beating yourself up and just fookin drink.
Stop torturing yourself on a alcoholic forum. Unless you make that decision to break the connection you are never going to leave it behind.
This is one Christmas out of your life, god only knows how many we've all ruined (seriously i started thinking back to previous Christmases and I had to stop it was fookin my head up....).
Just do whatever you have to do to make sure you don't drink. If that means driving EVERYWHERE so people can't bust your chops about drinking then do that. If it means not going somewhere then don't go!
I know we've all got kids (well I haven't but i've got a dog and a PS3 so its similar) and responsibilities but that should be all the more reason not drink!!!!!
It was like me earlier in the year with all this "meetings in bars" thing. Load of bollocks. Just a way to torture myself. Mad idea don't go in bars... temptation disappears...
I'm so angry with myself I could scream, its so obvious where I've been going wrong. Its not about denial, its about not WANTING to drink. Its deeper than just sitting there sweating looking at the bottle of wine.
Sorry I'm ranting, its just clicked in my head and its so painfully clear.