Back home so I can finally post again easily.

Pouncer/toots/Stevie - I agree with what you all said about acceptance. I definitely waited much longer than I should have to change my lifestyle but now I've done it I'm mostly just grateful I have. It would have been wonderful to have done it when I was much younger - actually it would be wonderful to be a bit younger anyway! - but when unbidden thoughts along the lines of 'what were you thinking', 'how embarrassing was that', 'how much money could you have saved over the years if you hadn't bought that daily bottle of wine' come to mind, as they do, I try very hard to push them away. I have finally got here and that is a cause for celebration. January 2020 sees me 7 months sober.

So good to start 2020 with all of you. And good that your partner is giving up the drink, Willow. That's a supportive move on his part.

Hi MITA , wisc, CK, Stargazer, Purps and Mags. Glad we're all in this thread together, even though Purps is fully entitled to join the One Year and Over Club! MITA - I am familiar with the kind of mailshot you got from the Neptune Society. The cheek of it!

Yes acceptance opens the door to many areas of recovery, like service work and working the steps.

I'm truly accepting when actively recovering.

Hats off to all!

Hi guys, good to see so many sober days being clocked up all around.
Pouncer, acceptance is the big thing 'accept the things I cannot change'. I am so much calmer these days, I go with the flow mostly, as long as it is in a direction I am happy to travel!

Rose, my past is littered with 'what if's it nowadays I feel 'okay I didn't take opportunities I should have, or made mistakes I wished I hadn't, but going forward, I'm gonna try to make the best choices.' One of my private - now not so private as I'm sharing it with you guys - is to not use text to avoid difficult discussions. It just makes things worse. From now on I hope to have what it takes to call rather than write a text that can (and usually is chosen to be ) misconstrued.

Willow, I hope your guy sticks to it, I'm sure it can only change things for the better in the relationship.

110 days!
Doing well.
Keep feeling physically better.
Live sober. Love Sober. Love to live sober.

My partner reckons he’s not drinking, and so far he hasn’t had a drink for 3 days so that’s a great start! :) :) :)

Is he a big drinker normally Willow or more a Normie who occasionally binges? I hope his intent comes from a real desire to stop. Mr T is a Normie, but he did stop drinking in front of me for around 6 months when I first quit. I practically had to force him to have a drink on our anniversary, telling him it was me with the problem, not him so why should he suffer? He will drink now, but an open bottle of wine could go off before he finishes it! ( How do normies do that??)

Great going Wisc, you are racking up those sober days!

Thanks Toots
Willow - great news with support
Doing well feeling the same with congestion
Winter temps 8F
One stupid voice this early but easily dismissed

Wisc - 8 degrees F? Wow. What is that like? Are you able to get out of the house much in that weather?

Rose-I love what you said about finally getting here and that is a cause for celebration.

Willow-Sobriety is contagious, I think. So glad you are communicating with your partner. My husband has been cutting way back since I have been active in recovery. I feels good to have other things to do except drinking and falling asleep in front of Netflix. Hoping good things for you. :)

I finally got time to read and post today. Been working a lot and it feels good to take care of overdue stuff.

This new dog is very active and my older dog loves hiking, walking and car trips with her new friend. I was worried about the stress of a new dog in early sobriety, but the new dog has been really good for me and the family so far. We are all getting more exercise and spending more time together. Glad to get out of the house and explore. I live in a community with lots of open wilderness and hiking and I have found lots of fossils, wildlife tracks, birds & new trails over the last week. I wouldn’t have the energy for that if I was drinking.

Thanks Toots, Wisc and Pouncer :)

Yes Toots he’s a normie who occasionally binges... I used to be like that once too... but no rose tinted glasses will take me back there.... It’s all or nothing for me now. So it’s nothing.
One day at a time :)

A lovely quote from one of our Overs who has 10+ years in sobriety that I wanted to pass on here as food for thought:- "Alcoholism is progressive, but so is recovery."

We can't expect our lives to fall into place the moment we quit drinking, we are taking the first baby steps towards our future. I know in my first year of recovery I focused on just that and made not drinking, my priority. The second year I began feeling my feet as a sober person. I guess life itself is a progression, so we never stop learning and moving forward - though alcohol does it's best to stop any momentum physically, mentally and emotionally - as many of you are beginning to find. How nice is it to begin to feel one's sober feet? :)

Doing well everyone...thank you for your posts!
We've learned to dress in layers, how to drive in snow, and have a lot of ice and snow removal methods.
Happy being sober

Doing well...a full 16 weeks sober
Waiting on a snow storm tonight

Well done wisc sober :)

D

Hi Unders!

On Day 38 today and had a close call a few days ago. Sobriety is getting better and easier, so I am remaining optimistic that if I keep working hard at recovery, I’ll make it. :)

Hope you stay warm in the storm, Wisc.

will do :tyou

Congrats on -now- day 39 Pouncer! What was the close call? And how did you deal? I'm glad you did it.

Wisc, 4 months is awesome. Hope you don't get too much bad weather. We have 40 mph gusts just now but only rain with it and it's very mild 11C

Have a wonderful sober weekend Undies!

Well done on 16 weeks Wisc! :You_Rock_

Thanks everyone
We got the cold and snow
Hope to all our Aussie and Puerto Rico friends.
Good sleep
already out of routine but that's okay...I can reboot anytime
Live Sober. Love Sober.

Congrats wisc and Pouncer ( especially since you had a close call. So glad you didn't let that throw you off course). Sounds like your new dog is proving to be such a good move.

I don't envy you your weather wisc! Unseasonably warm in London right now.

I like that quote, toots, and I wholeheartedly agree that recovery is progressive. I remain relieved and even thrilled to have achieved 7 months without alcohol and nothing can change that feeling but I must say I've found this to be a tedious week. Just too many dark mornings and evenings for my liking, especially in terms of finding things to do with my little granddaughter. It would be very nice to have some spring weather. Just a matter of getting through the next 10 weeks then!

Hope everyone is doing well. Glad your husband is being supportive, Willow.