DriGuy

Yes, you got through the craving part. Now comes the vigilance. For me, that meant recognizing the tricks my AV would try to play on me, primarily, the one where it would tell me I was well enough to handle a small amount of controlled drinking. Somehow, I knew beforehand that it would try that one. I guess someone may have warned me to watch for it.

The good news is that like getting over the cravings, the vigilance will become second nature and not something you will have to force as hard as you do in the beginning. It will be something that just happens in the background. I think it became my default state after the first year. But it's not a long year, because you will be enjoying happy surprises along the way, like one day realizing you haven't even thought about alcohol for a week.