Thatdeliveryguy

Last night, I had an in "house date" with my wife. We ate dinner I cooked BBQ ribs and baked potatoes. After dinner we talked like we didn't know each other for the first time in years. Its so awesome to get to know someone you love.

Then in the evening we listened to slow sappy music, danced in the living room and really enjoyed just having each other. This is a moment I would of never had drunk, or whilst drinking, I am so grateful for my wife and last night.

Earlier I posted about sever anxiety I am having, but I wanted to share the positive too. Life sober can be awesome! I really believe that, and last night I made my very pretty wife very happy and re-swept her off her feet.

I was embarrassed and felt out of place, but sometimes feeling embarrassed and out of place in a good way, is better then my old embarrassed and out of place bad way. Stay safe and sober my friends and enjoy those small things that are so big.

least

The sober moments I cherish most are my dog walks. When I was drinking I didn't walk them enough, too drunk or too sick, and really let them down with my neglect. Now they get two walks most every day and it's my favorite activity.

megan86

i love this and i think about this a lot and i think it's something i need to focus on more. i drink to numb myself but i forget that i'm also numbing what feels good and that along with letting the pain back in i'll also 1.) rid myself of the pain that comes from drinking and 2.) let a lot of joy and beauty back into my life.

thank you for sharing and reminding me that there are indulgences (a good meal, a good time with someone you love) that are positive and not dangerous like drinking.

LadyBlue0527

I had to really think about this and then the answer was clear. All of them

When I knew that quit date was coming I thought about what my life was going to be over a year from then. Coming home on a Friday night to do nothing more than watch a movie. Saturday cleaning the house, doing other chores, and then no reward other than watching a movie, reading a book, etc.

I am consistently amazed at how thankful I am for all of these things now. I am the me that was meant to be and I am grateful for every second. When I am happy now, I am truly happy. That's the gift of sobriety.

Tonymblue

I really love all the sober moments with my wife. Ive missed out on so many. Waking up sober and having coffee in the morning with her is just one of the little things that mean so much. Great post.

PurpleKnight

Sounds fantastic TDG!!

Bruno1979

Great post!!

LadyinBC

Being sober with my grandkids. I just love them so much and I am so lucky to be living with them and getting to see them everyday.

I would have never had this when I was drinking. Nothing beats seeing the smiles on their faces when they see me .

giochick

I'm going to second what Least said and say the time I have spent walking/playing my dog (As you can see from my avatar, she is freaking adorable). Since I quit drinking, I have made it a point to walk her every day, and play with her as much as I can. Watching her wiggle with excitement in anticipation of a walk, or just seeing her sheer joy in something as simple as playing fetch fills me with a sense of happiness.

Jupiters

god bless our beloved animals!!!!

Jupiters

I love waking up in the morning and NOT having a panic attack before my eyes open. That feeling that I KNOW I'm sober and not hungover. Yah, I'm a bit of a sloth these days and fighting some serious lethargy at times (day 72) but nothing beats that first awakening moment with no anxiety lurking behind.

I look forward to experiencing MANY MANY more things sober and clear headed !!!

giochick

I also want to add something else. Since deciding to quit drinking (15 days) I have been able to get my sh** together enough to enroll in a program to finish my degree. This was a huge step for me, as I have enrolled in school in the past, only to stop attending classes/completing coursework because of my drinking. As a result, my GPA is terrible. But I sucked it up, made some calls, met with an admission counselor. I am now admitted, albeit provisionally, and enrolled for 2 classes (I am going to take it slow. I am trying to set myself up for success, not failure). I was talking about this with my dad yesterday and he said something that really resonated with me. He said, "Remember that when you are sober, you are actually a pretty powerful force. Why give that power away?" So I cherish having my "power back", so to speak.

Jupiters

dads are smart eh?

ccam1973

Great Post!

For me, sober family time. When i am drinking my kids constantly say i am grumpy. I never felt grumpy but in the eyes of a 9 and 6 year old i must be. Probably the constant / nonstop thoughts about drinking, when will i have my next drink, hiding my drinking, drinking while i do everything... so much anxiety and wasted time spent on this addiction!

I haven't been called "grumpy dad" in 16 days now...

The struggles of overcoming this are so worth the sober time with my family; wife, kids, two dogs and three cats included. LOL

Mountainmanbob

The sober moments you cherish

it has taken some time in sobriety
but now I truly cherish the hard times when they come in life
why ?
because I have for a while now gotten through these without the thought of a drink
it feels good today to deal with rough issues without wanting a cheap escape
MM

soberjuly

I can sadly relate the post (above) to my kids. I didn't go out with my kids enough, I didn't pay attention to their toys, rooms, clothes. I mean they had what they needed, they weren't neglected but there was no management.

I need to go through my kid's clothes today and weed out things that don't fit. My youngest daughter was wearing clothes from her older sister's closet. I just thought she was trying to wear big sister's clothes. It was partially that, but I did notice a couple days ago that she's got a lot of clothes in her drawers that are too small, no wonder she was raiding older sister's closet.

And I never asked her, so I did, and she said she can never find anything that fits. I've been buying her clothes but without weeding out the old stuff, she can't be expected to know what is too small and what is okay (she's 4). She knows all her big sister's clothes will fit. I mean, it's sad. It makes me feel like crap, sorry to say. Just being honest. I was looking through her drawers and thinking, omg, I bought this over a year ago!

And I take the kids out now! It's weird. I never felt I had time but it was because I wanted to sit in a chair and drink. Poor kids! They lost a mom when I was a drunk and I was a drunk for the last 4 years!

All the time I spent buying alcohol, drinking alcohol, being drunk (no one is very productive when drunk), throwing things that needed to be dealt with into drawers to deal with later. Free time was spent trying to deal with things I had put off in order to continue the drinking...so I felt I never had time for anything.

I can focus on the kids now! and the husband! he's been a rock and I really don't know why he kept me around. I also hug and kiss my kids and husband more. Nice to do when sober.

desypete

i think my best sober moment was the day the courts and social workers gave me my kids back
after 12 months of being around aa and the people kept me full of hope it finally came true and i got my children back
i am always grateful these days for most things in my life were as i never was before but the day i got my kids back and the meetings i went to for weeks after there wasn't a dry eye to be seen around such is the love i have had with aa people
they carried me when i couldn't do it myself

i can never repay aa for there love and support i got and when i look back and it was 10 years ago i know just how much i have changed myself these days from that mixed up scared man i was

aa changed my life forever and through out all my hard times i have had in my sober years aa has never let me down there full of very special people who i love with all my heart.

SoberLeigh

Every. Single. One.

I hope that if I ever reach for a drink again the force of a thousand football teams will rain down on me.

gettingsmarter

I can read a whole book from start to finish again. Love it.