Originally Posted by
JeffreyAK 
I think it's important to keep in mind, nearly always we drink again as the end result of a process, probably a long process if we've been sober a long time. It's never a "what the hell" moment, not if we think carefully about what happened before that drink, what we did or didn't do, how we did or didn't stop and analyze what was happening and respond to it before the drink.
It was interesting reading everyones responses after I talked to my friend again. This quote right here, basically explains how he explained it to me. He said it was a process that he had been going through for sometime where he came to a cross in the road and always went left. After going left every time and coming back to the same place, he needed to know what was down the road that went right. I thought that was an interesting description of what he had been experiencing. As for the AA thing and continuous sobriety, he hasn't picked up a chip since his first year and pops into a meetings once or twice a year at the most, usually around his birthday.
I think the main thing is to remember we seek progress not perfection. If we stumble, pick ourselves up and remember to watch out for the those pitfalls as we continue on our journey. Me personally, I'm at 5 years myself, but I remember my first time around, when I was close to obtaining 6 months, but I relapsed and continued drinking that weekend primarily because I felt so guilty, that I had blown it and threw it all away. I'm glad that he was able to brush this off as something that needed to happen, but wasn't going to change his resolve for being sober.
I'm glad there were no bullets in chamber for him this time, what happens from this point only time will tell, I just hope he never picks up the gun again.