esinger

I was working on an appliance for a non-English speaking couple at my work. When I successfully finished the job they insisted on giving me a gift bag with a bottle in it. I tried to turn it down but they didn't understand and insisted. I didn't want to offend this nice elderly couple. When I later opened the bag, it was a very expensive bottle of cognac. Man I used to love a good cognac. The rest of the day my brain seemed to obsess on the smell and taste of it. I'm not at all worried that I will drink it because I don't drink.
I just find it interesting that after over four years of abstinence my mind would suddenly be tripped like this. I have plenty of dusty old bottles of booze around here and it has never bothered me like this one did. I think it will make a nice gift for my new neighbor. I hope he doesn't have a “problem”

PhoenixJ

Delilah1

I was very popular this past Christmas because I gave away lots of bottles of wine that I received as gifts!

Mattq2

Good for you esinger, four years is outstanding.

Hope to be there myself some day

Dee74

I'm glad your mind wasn't messed up too much

D

ScottFromWI

Good job on passing on the "gift". It's a great reminder too that once we are an addict, we are always an addict...even after years or decades of sobriety. Keeping our sober toolbox filled for those days is always important, even if they happen much less frequently than they did in the past.

Doug39

My wife and I went to a reverse raffle last weekend and we won a door prize.

The table containing the door prizes was full of booze - I let my wife pick and since she is still a heavy drinking she picked a liter bottle of Absolut Vodka. Their were many other prizes such as gift cards and even a Mickey Mouse waffle iron.

Now that bottle of Absolut is currently sitting on my kitchen counter (it is now almost empty since my wife has been drinking it) and I had to look at it all week. I had thoughts of what it would be like to have some but I always go back the thought of the hell my life was during the last few years of my alcoholism.

Today I am 137 days sober and I plan to stay sober.

thomas11

Well done on "re-gifting" it. I also think you did the right thing by accepting it, it was the right thing to do.

Hebnick

Very well done. I'm one who doesn't believe in once an addict always an addict. Just my view! For me drinking alcohol has no appeal now. Ex smokers aren't called recovering smokers, so I don't consider myself in recovery. Kind of went off topic there, sorry ��

That said, I believe in muscle memory, so seeing that cognac triggered a past association with drinking it.

But you didn't, and I bet you felt amazing ��

esinger

Yeah I'm really not a believer in "addict for life". I don't refer to myself as an alcoholic, just a nondrinker. Just really used to enjoy a fine cognac on rare occasions and having it in my hand made it tempting. Kind of like if I couldn't eat beef for some reason and someone put a slab of prime rib in front of me. (Not really, I'd eat the beef and suffer!)

heartcore

I believe in gifting! (Hopefully to a non-alcoholic, so that it is not a negative).

I accept bottles of alcohol at Christmas, etc., with a wide smile & thank you, then pass them to another as quickly as I can move that fire from my sweaty little hands!!

Don't hoard it in the closet for a holiday gift (dangerous! I once relapsed on a very expensive bottle of wine someone had gifted me that I had "tucked away" to regift at Christmas). Pass it on immediately! Even if to the random helpful clerk at a local business.

Fire in the hand (or closet), for us, anyway...

theVman31

Like you say you dont and we dont drink.
What is weird is the feeling in some situations too.
I was out on a hike one friday a few weeks ago. There were about 10 of us from work. It was one guys birthday so up on the Hill at picnic time he pulls out the bottle of champagne and a tube of plastic glasses. I said for the first time to colleagues I stopped drinking 5 months ago. They were brillant !
Have a good day