Benefits of Sobriety
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Toronto
Posts: 279
Benefits of Sobriety
Yesterday I had been invited to go with my family to have dinner with another family friend. I didn't go because I didn't want to drink. I had decided just to go to an AA meeting instead but didn't tell my mum why I needed to stay back. She was really unhappy I guess that she thought I wanted to stay home and drink. They all left home in the same car. I had just assumed that when they came back, my mum would just drop off my bro and his girlfriend at the front door and leave.
Anyway on the way home my mum sister and uncle all came in the house to use the bathroom before continuing home. My mother asked me if I could drive her home and I said yes. She said, "Are you sure?!" and I was like yeah I can. She looked incredulous and looked me in the eyes properly.
So I ran upstairs to pack some stuff as I would be spending the night at her house. When I came down she had left already. Anyway I don't necessarily think that she wanted me to drive her home. I think she was sort of messing with me. Anyhoo it just felt good that this time, when she asked me if I was ok to drive, I was 100% OK. I was completely safe to drive and that hasn't happened in a really really long time.
It felt good.
Anyway on the way home my mum sister and uncle all came in the house to use the bathroom before continuing home. My mother asked me if I could drive her home and I said yes. She said, "Are you sure?!" and I was like yeah I can. She looked incredulous and looked me in the eyes properly.
So I ran upstairs to pack some stuff as I would be spending the night at her house. When I came down she had left already. Anyway I don't necessarily think that she wanted me to drive her home. I think she was sort of messing with me. Anyhoo it just felt good that this time, when she asked me if I was ok to drive, I was 100% OK. I was completely safe to drive and that hasn't happened in a really really long time.
It felt good.
Laozi Old Man
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Detroit, MI
Posts: 6,665
Originally Posted by LifeBlows 
... She said, "Are you sure?!" and I was like yeah I can. She looked incredulous and looked me in the eyes properly.
SR Fan
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 7,910
Great post! That's what sobriety is all about.....
It was the little things that made me realize just how much I'd missed out on while drinking. When you have a hangover, you can't appreciate the birds singing in the morning. When you're worried about your breath smelling of alcohol, you don't have long conversations with people (even family). Taking out the garbage is about getting rid of the evidence and hoping no one hears the clanking, instead of noticing it's a beautiful day as you're walking to the curb. All the little things added together make you realize just how different it can be.
It's nice, isn't it?!!
It was the little things that made me realize just how much I'd missed out on while drinking. When you have a hangover, you can't appreciate the birds singing in the morning. When you're worried about your breath smelling of alcohol, you don't have long conversations with people (even family). Taking out the garbage is about getting rid of the evidence and hoping no one hears the clanking, instead of noticing it's a beautiful day as you're walking to the curb. All the little things added together make you realize just how different it can be.
It's nice, isn't it?!!
Gone In
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 223
I think re-building trust with my wife, trust I eroded in my alcoholism, was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had in sobriety. I can still remember her screaming in the phone 'Go to %#$@! rehab!' after she caught me poking holes in the bottom of beer cans and draining them, then putting them back so they look unopened. We were finding empties all over the house for months while I was learning to live sober.
Re-earning her trust took time, and I did it with actions, not words. I never apologized for anything I did while drinking until I had a year sober. But in-between she saw that I was serious about changing, and that I was doing the work. Slowly we re-built trust, and it's been very grartifying for me. I remember to honor that trust by living up to it, and staying sober. She stills asks me if I'm drunk sometimes if my eyes are red, or I'm being goofy (I was a goofy drunk), but I figure that's just due diligence on her part, for which I'm grateful.
Re-earning her trust took time, and I did it with actions, not words. I never apologized for anything I did while drinking until I had a year sober. But in-between she saw that I was serious about changing, and that I was doing the work. Slowly we re-built trust, and it's been very grartifying for me. I remember to honor that trust by living up to it, and staying sober. She stills asks me if I'm drunk sometimes if my eyes are red, or I'm being goofy (I was a goofy drunk), but I figure that's just due diligence on her part, for which I'm grateful.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Northern Ireland
Posts: 413
Cool to hear your story LB.
I thought I'd rant on the benefits of sobriety in my life as my hands are feeling really itchy!
I thought I'd shrink inside myself as a sober guy but I've become more extroverted than I ever was when I was drunk. This is after 50 days.
More time to read. More time to jog. More time to smile and think about a future that's not in bondage to a bottle. More time to better my career.
Less arguing with those I care about. No vomiting in the middle of the night due to binge drinks in the morning. No counting of units. No awakening in a panic in the morning thinking about what I've said or done.
No more alcohol ever again. Yeooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
No more beer (hated it anyway). No more spirits (yuk). No more cider (YUK!). No more Jagermeister (I can however have a tablespoon of cough medicine when I've got the cold. Same awful flavor!).
I thought I'd rant on the benefits of sobriety in my life as my hands are feeling really itchy!
I thought I'd shrink inside myself as a sober guy but I've become more extroverted than I ever was when I was drunk. This is after 50 days.
More time to read. More time to jog. More time to smile and think about a future that's not in bondage to a bottle. More time to better my career.
Less arguing with those I care about. No vomiting in the middle of the night due to binge drinks in the morning. No counting of units. No awakening in a panic in the morning thinking about what I've said or done.
No more alcohol ever again. Yeooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
No more beer (hated it anyway). No more spirits (yuk). No more cider (YUK!). No more Jagermeister (I can however have a tablespoon of cough medicine when I've got the cold. Same awful flavor!).
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