Nevertheless

I thought it might be good to post something positive.
8 weeks ago when I woke up in the morning my head hurt so bad I thought it was going to explode. This morning I woke up (almost) feeling like a normal person.
To my point. I like to fly radio controlled airplanes. For the last 30 years at 5 oclock (beer oclock) I turned from Jeckyl to Hyde. By fivethirty I was usually too drunk to legally drive.
Today I was at the flying field until it got dark,and while I thought about drinking I had no desire to all evening long. I had a blast, but 8 weeks ago there ain't no way I could have done this. I always left at 5 before. I just hope I can keep staying sober.

Anyone else feel like posting something fun they are doing now that they couldn't do when they were drinking/using.

gravity

One of the greatest blessings of my sobriety is that I am always there when my wife and small children need me. Not missing for 2 or 3 days, not hiding in the basement drinking, not laying on the couch hungover & full of self-pity.

I just love waking up in the morning and hearing my kids laughing & smiling at my wife.

If my wife needs me to watch the kids, I'm here. If the kids need help with their homework, learning to play baseball, a hug when they hurt themselves, I'm here.

My family can count on me.

flutter

Living! That sounds silly.. but seriously, I was a walking brainless zombie.. and now I enjoy most every minute of every sober day.. it's so exciting to feel so alive

sfgirl

True that. I was walking by this popular bar today that has a large outside area. It was nice out and being Saturday this is totally the type of day that before I would have used as an excuse to go that bar and start boozing early. Instead today I was with my dog, walking by, and I realized how much I appreciated the smaller things. I am enjoying the breeze, the sun, the simple act of walking, the feeling of my body, my new found health and strength. When I type that out it sounds so cheesy but it is true. Alcohol takes away from experiencing all those subtleties. I am so glad that my Saturday did not include a trip to the bar.

CarolD

Well done on your new sobriety.....

Learning to be a better woman has been fun
frightening...elateing...sad....interesting...pain ful..fascinating
the most rewarding thing I have ever done.

Recovery Really Rocks!

Gypsy Feet

I Agree!

plus going out JUST for desert is so cool!!

I kind of like answering yes when the disbelievers say "Wow, you really STILL haven't gone back to drinking" haha.

slimjim30

Finishing tasks that have been waiting weeks to do...

Saturday I finished building the shelves in the garage, and I started AND finished planting the garden out by the front of the house.

Sunday I repaired the sprinkler system to the garden area.

These tasks would have taken me a month before.

JJB

Thanks for this thread nevertheless. It really is a great help and inspiration to anyone like me on those first wobbly days of recovery. Even if i'm not far enough on to say what i now have rediscovered, I'm looking forward to being able to start running again and even just go up a flight of stairs without being out of breath and dizzy when I get to the top because of how much I drank the night before.I'm looking forward to being able to do all the things i'm always planning to do in a day which never got done because drinking and recovering from its aftereffects took up so much time.

TheChangingMan

It is Sunday morning at 09:10 UK time and when I am drinking I would still be in bed feeling like crap without the energy to get out of bed and wondering what the hell I was going to do with my day.

Today, sober, I woke at 07:00 feeling in great spirits got up went outside and in the lovely early morning sunlight I washed my motorbike down, polished up came back in and had a nice healthy breakfast of cereal, banana and grapefruit juice.

It doesnt sound a lot but I wouldnt have been able to do anything of it when drinkingand you know what? I am in a great mood and really thankful that I am able to do this. On mornings like this I really appreciate sobriety and know that alcohol doesn't have anything to offer me at all.

Amazing how booze robs you of the appreciation of even the smallest things.

Charmie

its 10am here in scotland on a sunday morning.had a lie in today as such a busy week,just home yesterday from my hometown for a sad reason.family funeral.i was able to help all week and be useful and considerate for my mum.it was a sad week but what a difference being sober! anyway on to the fun things! my mum and sister bought me a rhodedendron to say thank you for my help so i am going in my garden to cut my grass and plant my beautiful bright pink rhodedendron and pot some other flowers my sister got for me.i used to hate gardening and scoff at those who had nice gardens.my how things change! would have been scrabbling around for beer this time on a sund morn and if i wasnt at work on the monday i would have been real drunk by now,,i look forward to getting up for a nice coffee now with a clear head! marvelous!

tellus

Being able to think. In two years I went from a bright high school graduate with all the academic awards my school could pin on me, to a moronic college dropout who couldn't do basic arithmetic in her head. The drink held my brain hostage... It's so wonderful to have it back.

Right now it's seven on a Sunday morning, and I'm on my way out the door for a couple hours of studying before I have to be at work. I love that I can do this now!

But really, there's too many things to list. There isn't a week that goes by where I don't stop and think "wow, I'd never have been able to do this when I was drinking" at least a couple times. Great thread, Nevertheless.

Jayne2

I'm going to start running again too!

What a great thread. There are so many things to list. I am a once-a-month binge type, so I get a taste of how great sobriety is all too often. Hopefully this time it will stick. So far I am on 9 days. This thread is a great reminder to keep it up.

Jayne

tommyk

I read every night before going to sleep.

I could never do that before.... too crosseyed from drinking.

(Also - I know what a Sat & Sun morning are like, before I always slept through past noon.)

NEOMARXIST

I dunno, I guess this is the thing that is doing my head in at the moment.Drink has caused me to become very isolated thus now, when not drinking at weekends, etc I find myself pretty bored and alone.
I need to regain my social life, which before my real 'heavy' Drink and Drug use was very healthy. kinda lost all of this when I started getting really heavily into drink and drugs binges of a weekend as most of my peers were getting steady girlfriends/careers/homes etc and I just wanted to achieve that ultimate high! I wouldn't change it though as I had some great times, cost a lot of money though.haha.
So yes any suggestions on ways to go about rebuilding this aspect of my life from people who maybe were in a similar position?
Thanks.

LauraS

My evenings were devoted to drink. Everything else got put off until the weekend. If we needed things for the house, too bad. It waited until the weekend.

Now I can go out on a weeknight at, say, 7:30, and pick up something that we need for that night or the following day. Before, I couldn't-- I had to do it when I first got home (before the drinking) or not at all.

Seems a simple little thing, but just shows how much I was becoming enslaved by alcohol.

coffeenut

I just feel good. I feel like no matter what I decide to do.....even if it's wrong....I'll be okay.

I like being the sober one in social situations. I'm very proud of it.

It's just a huge mind change. It's like I've finally woken up from being an inch underwater for 50 years.

Nuclerosis

Being an alcoholic isn't really living, your just... existing.

sfgirl

I don't know how long you are sober but it takes time. I was a hermit for the first six months of sobriety and only started being social again a few weeks ago. I just sort of listened to my body and my feelings. I wasn't ready to go out and put the energy towards other people. Now, I finally am that I am more comfortable with myself and my sobriety. So my suggestion which might be super annoying just because we are addicts and we like things to happen right away is patience...

Oh, and get a puppy. That really helps.

TTOSBT

Almost everything I do today is thanks to my sobriety!
My favorite part? That I am there for my kids no matter what time of day or night it is!

jacknscoob

Hi Nevertheless, great thread.

Things that come to mind for me are being able to remember things, eg phoning my mum in the UK & remembering the contents of our conversations, how did I get home? what happened after 7pm? What I said to whom?

Also, a silly thing but I now clean my teeth before I go to bed and I don't wake up in the morning wearing yesterdays clothes, doh! And then continue to wear them for the next day. Shame on me.

Getting stuff done that has been put off for yonks and dealing with all the chaos & mess.