PinotNOmore

Just thought I'd check in. I realized I generally only come to this site when I'm feeling down, and maybe it's good to stop in with some positivity sometimes! Coming to the end of day 7, I realize a few things... I Hate counting days!!! So I'm not doing it any more. I had 12 straight days before Easter, drank that day, and haven't since. Also spent all of 2012 sober... So are those 12 days and a whole year wasted just because I drank on Easter. Nope! I still spent less days drinking so that's the important thing! I'm sure I'll always be conscious of how long it's been, but for me it just seems to make it a daunting task with no deadline! Do you just count days until you die? lol Sorry... I'm ranting!

But in all honesty, It's so much easier not to drink then it is to drink! I used to think it was hard not drinking!! No, what's hard is waking up feeling crummy, just trying to get through the day. It's hard to try and complete easy tasks when you'd rather curl up on the couch with a bottle of wine. It's hard to go out to dinner because you don't want to have to drive, so you just stay home. + a 1000 other examples I could name, but you all know what I'm talking about.

What's not hard is waking up early and being happy to play with my kid (even at 5:50am), it's not hard completing all my errands, tidying up the house, and getting dinner on the table, all with a clear head. Even social situations are more pleasant, which I already knew, from being sober all 2012, but had managed to "forget" in the last 3 months! It's easy going to bed when I'm tired, after washing my face and brushing my teeth, and then sleeping soundly! And best of all, my relationships with my baby, husband, and family aren't being strained. Being sober is nice!

But, I am a realist. I know it's not always going to be rainbows and butterflies! Things will get hard occasionally and I may trip and fall. But for now, I'm staying away from booze, things are good, and I am thankful for that.

SophieB

Love that post PinotNoMore... Made me laugh when you said do you count days till you die? You did 2012 , sober after that and then a slip up. That in no way negates the sober time you had in and the memories of how great you felt during that time which is what is driving you to move forward!!

Thanks for sharing!!

Garden Girl

Real. Inspiration. Thank you.

PinotNOmore

Thanks SophieB and Karissaleigh! I should mention I was pregnant in 2012 so staying sober then wasn't too difficult. Drinking wasn't an option in my mind. I wish it was that easy to say it's not an option now, but the mind works in mysterious ways! :/ luckily for the last week I have not even had the desire to drink, but I do have some situations coming up that have been triggers in the past, and I've already caught myself today thinking about how to "plan to drink moderately" during these events. in these instances I think it's more about protecting my "secret identity" and to not have to explain why I'm not drinking when normally I would have been. Later today I'm going to sit down and make a game plan. I have a week to prepare so hopefully that will give me time to realize I need to focus on me, and less about what other people are thinking. Realistically is probably all in my head and people probably won't even notice that anything is different!