st. patrick's day
 

st. patrick's day in chicago is a HUGE celebration of drinking. sure, there is corned beef and cabbage, but most of the parties revolve around drinking. as this is my first year sober, i find myself very anxious concerning the upcoming few days.

sunday i am taking a corned beef to my sisters for a little party after the parade. my sister's home has a bar that i loved to drink at. and i loved drinking with my sister, too. but i want to be with my family and i have survived situations in the past, i am just uneasy not because i am worried i will drink, but because of the strong emotions i will need to sit through. i understand that it is something i need to learn to tolerate, i am just expressing my fear here because if i express it to certain people in my life, they tell me i can drink and it isn't a big deal. so i know going to them isn't the best plan.

i plan on focusing on all the good being sober has produced. i plan on reviewing my goals, exercising that morning. i am not going to look towards being sober as a punishment, but as a blessing nor am i going to force myself to relive any of the troubles that drinking previously caused me. hopefully the positive can shine some bright on the dark.

Even during my 25 years of daily drinking I always considered New Years Eve, Super Bowl, St. Patrick's Day, Cinco De Mayo and any other "drinking holiday" all bull crap excuses for amateurs to have a few drinks.

Real alcoholics need no excuse to drink.

The media has made it look like you are not cool if you don't drink on these occasions.

Enjoy the day and the corned beef on March 17. I will be without the beer.

Ah, yes. Luck of the Irish! Think of how awesome it will be to be one of the few without a hangover! And not feeling cruddy for work on Monday!

Why corned beef and cabbage? I thought potatoes was the staple diet. For me any day was a good day to have a drink. St Paddy's day made it compulsory as did Christmas, birthdays, ANZAC Day, all the other public holidays and main sporting events, elections, severe weather events and outbreak of war or peace. If I was still drinking I'd also be celebrating the referendum in Crimea tomorrow to justify a shot of vodka.

I have zero Irish heritage but used to get messy on St Paddy's. I remember one St Paddy's Day while traveling in the US. They were selling Green Beer for a nickel a pint at Daytona Beach. I almost died of alcohol poisoning that night. All I remember is vomiting green. I never actually found out what St Paddy's Day was about.

About 15 years ago,a guy I grew up with was riding his motorcycle home after drinking all day starting at the KC St.Pattys day parade. He must have thought an exit ramp was still the highway. They say he was airborne almost 200 feet.
I was pallbearer at his funeral. He probably never knew what hit him,and nobody else was hurt. But I think about it every St pattys day.
As one poster on another forum signs his posts "If drinking and driving is illegal,why do bars have parking lots"

If I were you,I would make sure I had an escape from your sisters house. So if the need arises to leave,you won't have to wait until someone else is ready.

Fred

I was actually just speaking with my sponsor about situations like this. We can go and make our appearance but when it becomes apparent that people are just going to drink and be rowdy, we can leave when we are not having a good time.

Now you make me want to try some corned beef and cabbage .

My best man was a Geologist from County Kerry in Eire. When we was single and drinking buddies he used to live on spuds, cabbage and Guinness. I swear his farts were so bad it used to clear the office out at work and got us banned from at least 2 pubs in Perth.
Cabbage, corned beef and Guinness on its own is bad enough, the three combined is explosive and should have a public health warnings!

Johno, thanks for, uh, sharing? Lol

I went to our local Irish pub/restaurant for LUNCH yesterday, had a Reuben and swapped Guinness for their locally famous bread pudding. Nor sure I could have handled being there later when people started drinking in earnest, but lunchtime was OK.

What motivates me is the fear of continuing down the same path and waking up to find that I had thrown my life away.

Amen.

You may be Superwoman. But those types of environments are full of kryptonite.

You're right to be concerned. You're going to spend a holiday that is widely known as an excuse to get rip roaring drunk with people in your life who like to tell you that you don't have a problem. That's just a bit scary.

I understand that this is a big holiday. Have an exit strategy and use it.

No need for a reply on this but you need to be honest with yourself. Do you see yourself as getting away from this unscathed?

i have quite a few exit strategies on hand, but i know i will get out unscathed. i am by no means superwoman, but i make it point to be admit that this day will be hard. this day will make me want to drink. badly. and this day might cause me to feel uncomfortable, angry or anxious but i can tolerate it and will do my best to have a good time. i am worth tolerating the bad for the good - i deserve my happiness.

i also deserve my corned beef which is slow-cooking with carrots and baby reds as we speak!

Haven't heard from you pteque, how did it go?

it was great! i practiced control and had a blast. sadly, i cut my corned beef wrong so my sister took first place in that regard. but yes, a lovely day. :)

Good going!!!! :)

Pteque,

Keep cutting across the grain! Glad you enjoyed yourself. :)

ugh! it was cutting against the grain that got me! also, i bought a point cut, not a flat cut? so my mom said that had to do with something.

BUT, my potatoes and carrots were definitely much better.

I stopped going out on drinking holidays years ago due to drunk drivers (pot-kettle, I know).

I personally avoid occasions where people are drinking and partying but found myself in the midst of a St. Patty's day celebration at a restaurant/bar and it was TOUGH (husband wanted wings there and I forgot about St. Patty's day completely). Really reinforced my decision to avoid those situations.