Farewell Mistress Alcohol
Dear Mistress Alcohol
It’s six months to the day since you and I parted company, and it has rekindled memories of our long, tempestuous relationship that lasted over 30 years.
I remember the first night we met: I was 14 and my friends introduced me to your seductive charms. In fact, I was so intoxicated by you that night, that my bed was spinning, the earth moved, and I ended up heaving in the bathroom. Strangely, the following day, the first of our long, dangerous courtship, I was as so hungover and sick, that I vowed never to see you again. But you promised me the world: beautiful sunsets over the sea, starry skies in the bush, lovely people mingling fashionably in high places, the clink of bonhomie in lively bars. But whenever we went out together the sunsets were bloodshot, the stars were blurred, and the only clink I heard was that of broken glass. Many of my friends who fell for your charms ended up on the road to ruin.
Do you remember how I took you partying when I was 17 in my first year at college? You were the debutante who turned me into a drunk. I went to jail that night, young, innocent, and wrecked. But we didn’t split then, and it got worse. Waking up next to you every morning, head pounding, heart racing, hands shaking was a nightmare, and yet the courtship continued. Do you remember the night we went for a drive when I was just 22 and we ended up colliding with a Mustang and three other cars? And the time our boat nearly sank at sea because of the weight of alcohol it was carrying? Do you remember how angry I was with you the night Dave died in a motorbike accident on the way from the pub? And how my mate Jimmy died alone in an apartment after you had assaulted his mind, heart and body so mercilessly for so long? There were so many others who fell for your charms and never got up again.
And so it went on… until one day a ray of light appeared and help from above introduced me to a new partner, Sober Recovery.
I wanted to write this letter to tell you that in the six months we have been apart, I have fallen in love again - not with the delusions of the daily buzz you offered or the slurred promise of oblivion, but with the serene fragrance of sobriety and a full awareness of the present moment.
I have realized now that only by living without you, has my real life truly begun.
No farewell has ever been sweeter than my farewell to you, thanks immeasurably to my HP and my gracious, always remembered friends on SR.
Peace and love