artsoul

Great post - Thanks for the smile (of recognition, for sure)! I loved this:
What a contrast from the way we lived!

When my own daughter graduated last weekend, I found myself imagining what the day would have been like had I still been drinking vs. what it was sober. For one thing, I probably would have "celebrated" the night before and started the whole day with some kind of hangover. I'd stay in bed as long as possible and just hope I would feel better later. I certainly wouldn't have done what I did - invited everyone to my house or made a nice lunch for all the relatives.

I would have struggled over what to wear due to that extra 20 pounds I was carrying around, and would have hated the photos afterwards showing my bloated face. I would have been anxious and sweaty, chewing breath mints and making sure I had perfume on to cover the alcohol coming out of my pores. I would have spent the whole day wearing a happy face just waiting for it to be over.

Just one more typical day in the life of an alcoholic........

Thanks again for the post and keep up the good work!!!

ajangel

Deja vu. That was exactly how my daughters graduation was 4 years ago.

WINNC

This completely sums it up for me. I am day 34 sober but I could not imagine and still could not for that matter just all of a sudden deciding to have one beer. Would never have admitted this in the past. Great Post

erikm02

Not gonna lie I'm def jealous of people that can just have one beer and stop. Cool story though

For me it was hey let's have a drink, or 2, or 6 or 12.... Also lets do a TON of irish carbombs... Eff it let's go get some blow and keep drinking until sunrise

RyanRed

When I was drinking if I came across a 1 beer type situation I would order the strongest drink I could think of. Usually a Long Island or something along those lines.

HAHAHA I once asked a bartender if he could fill a 12 oz class full of Tequila. Yes, JUST TEQUILA! hahahaha. He stared at me in a little bit of shock lol.

-Ryan

SSIL75

Great post. It continues to be very eye opening for me to watch normal people drink! Even last night my husband drank 3 beers kind of quickly when he got home.

And then he just stopped. Just like that. Talked to me, ate a snack etc.

I still don't get it

sable1

Yes, whenever I would be in that kind of situation I would pretend to be relaxed about having my one beer for as long as I could, but on the inside I was plotting how to get more alcohol without appearing strange to others.
Getting home and doing it "properly" was the usual end of a night where I was going to have just one beer.

It's actually nice to have realized that I can't moderate. In the beginning when I tried to moderate, it caused me soo much stress.

Krang

Thanks for sharing.

newwings

I still cringe when I remember going out for a birthday dinner with 12 friends, and as we left the restaurant, I went round the table and finished off every glass of wine (white or red) that had some left in it. I can't believe I ever really got that desperate, and at the time thought it was 'funny'. OMG!

lovingit

Don't feel bad newwings. Once, at Tampa Bay Busch Gardens, my first time there it rained and the rides were shut down. So we go to the Hospitality House where they allow you one free drink. Not enough. We get on line again, get another, and while we're on line we notice they offer beer school, we sign up. It's a one hour class that teaches you all about Anheiser Busch. As soon as we walk into the classroom we are seated with about 7 plastic cups each.(approximately 25 people to the class) The first part was how important it was to them to get the beer distributed fresh, hence the born on date. They poured a fresh beer in one cup, and a microwaved, but chilled beer in the other. They said the nuking aged it 9 months. They wanted to see how many in the class could tell a fresh beer from a stale one. Most of the class was in there to drink because of the rain, but they only sipped a little of the nasty stale beer, and finished the fresh one. I proceed to have everybody pass their unfinished cups to me and drink most of them in mid-class. The other 5 cups were other varieties of beer which I also drank all of. At the end of the class I received a beautiful certificate for graduating Beer School! Thanks for allowing me to share, have a wonderful holiday everyone.

BobGT

I like the "normie" stories. I have a friend who orders a gin and tonic before dinner "easy on the gin," and never orders a second drink. It always makes me laugh about how differently others think.

Good topic, Reggie.

least

I was the same way. One glass of wine? Drinking it for an hour?? I could polish off a big glass of wine in five minutes! Embarassing to recall...

Zebra1275

Years ago my friends and I would often start a night of partying at a Chinese resturant that served this mixed drink in a punch bowl and everyone around the table had a really long straw. I used to love the place, nobody could tell how much I was drinking out of the punch bowl.

reggiewayne

Great stuff guys! I especially relate to the comments about drinking "somewhat" normal in front of people all the while planning my "real drinking". Then going home and making up for lost time.

The thing I try and do when I have these moments is affirm that I really am an alcoholic. Normal drinkers simply don't do these things. It's so nice to live the in solution now. For years I tried to "drink normal". I always failed. By simply surrendering to the fact that I am an alcoholic makes life a whole lot easier. Now that booze is not a possible answer for me, I have to look for another one. That is where recovery has come in - and thank god for it.

oak

I am always amazed when I read a thread that describes so well what I have been thinking about lately! I've been realizing how little people drink. Or the idea that people get sedated, light-headed, nauseas or some unpleasant feeling and stop after one or two drinks. Perplexing! Alcohol has a very different affect on me- energizing & rarely nauseating.

It was very validating to read so many people say that they could also have one drink in public. I could too- but I would be making plans for when I could drink again, or I would go home and drink immediately.

BackToSquareOne

The whole concept that alcohol could be used as a beverage for refreshment was always foreign to me. I always thought that the whole purpose of alcohol was to get a good drunk on. Having one or two drinks was never of any interest to me and still isn't, it was always "All Or Nothing At All".

I think the "Normal" drinkers just haven't figured it out yet!

mubu

I am with the rest of you on the one beer. I feel the same way. I don't know if any on you watch Cougar Town, but I would be able to stop at one glass of wine, except my glass would resemble the large one that Courtney Cox named Joe, or on vacation, the large votive candle holder she turned into a glass. I would dtill probably have filled it more thatn once though!

ACT10Npack

I truly think that people use alcohol to relax. People get use to the taste of beer and even more with hard liquor. I think a lot of use it to escape our problems.

ACT10Npack

I watch that show too and I'm surprise that they are not drunk most of the time on the show. They are always drinking wine mostly and sometime beer and they would drink starting at noon and don't stop until night. Strong alcohol abuse on that show.

mubu

I am obviosuly getting tired, I just looked back at my post, I really do know how to spell still and than!!! I can't use alcohol as an excuse (thankfully!!) for my typos! I agree with you about the alcohol abuse on Cougar Town, I think they start drinking most mornings, and continue throughout the day.