DriGuy said:
Missing out on the fun is a relative perception.
This is true. I was much 51 when I got sober, but I was still trying to act like a youngster when I drank - sowing some wild oats after a divorce, I called it. Going to bars, hanging out with people much younger than I was, feeling flattered when younger men hit on me, etc. Truth is, I had always had a tendency to drink alcoholically, this was just one of those times in my life when I was single and using it as an excuse to drink more than usual. I thought I was having so much fun. I was terrified of giving that up when I realized I was going to have to. I really thought I'd never have any more fun. I figured my social life was over, that I'd just become a lonely little old lady, hoping my kids and grandkids would come visit me. It was like a grieving process, almost.
But after a while, looking back, I began to realize how sad and pathetic that life actually was. Sure, there were fun evenings, it wasn't all drunken messiness, but on the whole, looking at the big picture, it was not a fun life AT ALL. The negatives were FAR outweighing any "fun."
Now, I socialize differently. I can still meet up with friends (not all of the same ones as before, for sure, but a few) and hang out with them while they have some drinks. I drink my iced tea or club soda. We have real conversations, until they start becoming impaired. Then I go home. I have my own activities I can do to make my life richer and fun that do not involve drinking. My fun is different now, and it's much better.