SoberBike

High school reunion weekend for myself. Last night I pushed through as everybody else indulged in cocktails at the bar. This will be, by far, my hardest weekend since quitting almost 6 months ago.

Today all classmates are meeting at a park. There will be lots of alcohol I'm sure, but I have my seltzer water with and SR. Honestly I want to drink today and feel a little left out, but I will again push through. Thanks everyone thus far in my journey!!

SoberHoopsFan

That's a tricky situation as many people tend to binge drink (even those without real drinking problems) in those scenarios. The only reason I even went to my 10 year high school reunion was to get loaded. I had very little interest in seeing the majority of those people, and had no desire to interact with them in sobriety. I guess for me, I just wouldn't go at this point. Are these people your close friends? It's just not fun for me to be around people drinking heavily while I am sober...

Nuudawn

The meeting at the park? Will there be food there? Is there any other purpose to the meet other than drinking? I actually heard a guy share his experience at a highschool reunion just recently at an AA meeting. He is somewhere near 3 years sober though I think. Anyways, he says he had a great time..sober. He did note that all his HS pals were the drunkest of the drunk (on even shat his pants and kept on partying). He had support with him in his woman (who was 9 months preggers at the time) and who he met at AA.

I do hope you are able to enjoy yourself and STILL keep sobriety your first priority. This is a 'one off" event...and not real life. I would hate to see you throw away life for a brief moment of reminiscing. You survived last night...you can today.

Please know you can leave if you are uncomfortable...and that is not defeat. Don't let your addiction play games with you in your discomfort around folks "looking" like they are having a good time. Some will be so drunk they won't even remember it. In essence, they won't even "be there". Know what I mean?

Choose to "be there" fully and completely. Pretend your the event reviewer and notice every detail. What would your review be at the end? Was it good? Was it horrible.I for one would love to read it.

PurpleKnight

Hey Erik, it's important to get rid of those "left out" feelings, after this reunion everyone will go back to their own lives, no one else gets to pick up the pieces should you drink at this event, so for the sake of a few people high school, they're not worth more than how you have chosen to live when you got Sober!!

You can do this!!

SoberBike

Well, I made it through my reunion just fine, some cravings but they settled down as I started visiting with my old classmates. One of my classmates, that I see every few months, was talking to my wife about my not drinking yesterday and told my wife that the last time she saw me I looked very puffy and bloated. Needless to say the last time I saw her was last October and my drinking was at it's peak. She commented how good I looked and told me she was happy for my decision to quit drinking.

The other interesting thing is one of my classmates got so drunk he basically passed out near the park restroom at 8pm. Luckily we found him and got him home safely without him trying to drive home. I totally saw myself in him as he was vomiting as he was walking to the restroom. On one hand felt really bad and sad for my classmate and also blessed that I have almost 6 months of sobriety. He saw me drinking seltzer water all day and asked why I wasn't drinking. I told him I had some blood pressure issues, which I did have, due to my drinking. He told me " I need to stop drinking...my blood pressure is high as well..." he kept repeating this to me over the next few minutes.

Do I reach out to him and let him know there is help out there for you if you truely want to quit?? Of course I didn't do this in front of our classmates, but was just wondering if this would be the right thing to do to try to help him along. We weren't very close in HS...but when I saw him yesterday, in the condition he was in, I feel I need to try to help him.

Thanks again SR!!

Nuudawn

I am so glad you returned to this thread with your update Erik. Would there be any harm in giving him a call or shooting him an email just to let him know you understand? Just something like..hey buddy, I know what's it like and it doesn't have to be this way anymore.

No harm in caring right? He either takes your outstretched hand or he doesn't. Last night I was at an AA meeting and a lady there shared that she had come upon a woman on the side of the road with a bottle the night previous. She said she talked with her a long while and that the woman promised her she would meet her at this same meeting the next night. She didn't. I could see and hear the disappointment in the woman's share that the woman was still out there...and did not take her outstretched hand. I felt badly for her...the woman sharing I mean.

We can reach out..but we must prepared for any feelings we may have to deal with if they reject that hand. Not everyone is ready..but, its always good to care right?