Welcome UnhappyHour.....love your username
My dad and grandfather were both alcoholic. I didn't begin drinking till I was 45, but took to it pretty fast! I'm 55 now, and had become a daily drinker the last few years. I liked to "dress up my drinking" with goblets and lighting candles etc., but it was just a camouflage. I felt resentful of anything that made me be out of the house in the evenings, as it interfered with my wine drinking, which began at 4 pm.
I quit alcohol last June. I don't even miss it anymore....hard to believe, but it's the truth. I haven't spent time with the friends I drank with, at first to not tempt me, but now, I'm not sure I have that much in common with them.
I've changed and so has my life. The tradeoffs have been totally worth it and I'll never go back to drinking.