aeo1313

Today was the last day of school so us staff went to a bar to celebrate. I had second thoughts before I went, but called a friend and my sponsor before hand. I stayed for about 1.5 hrs and it went great. I had a good time even with my diet coke. Only one person was drunk and that was my drinking friend who only drinks once or twice a week, but drinks alcoholically every time- it's why we liked drinking together. I feel pretty darn good about not drinking.

DisplacedGRITS

Woot and congrats!

Anna

I'm glad it went well.

Sapling

Nice job aeo...Don't make a habit of it.

suki44883

Glad it went well, but I agree with sapling. Don't make a habit of going to bars. You know what they say....If you go to a barbershop often enough, sooner or later you'll get a haircut.

soberlicious

aeo1313,
I would certainly make a habit of having fun! Isn't that why you quit drinking, to live your life freely?
I'm glad you had fun. Being clear headed, authentic, and in the moment is a high in itself. You need not fear any place when you are a non-drinker.

I will say...I got a little stuck on your first sentence. I am a teacher and when I read "Today was the last day of school" I was like "wait...WHAT?" I still have 2 and a half weeks left! Ugh...LOL

aeo1313

I can understand why you said this, but it is not very realistic. Most bars around here have great food and I wouldn't stop eating there bc they have liquor. Granted- I have little desire to hang out at a bar bar for no reason, but a co-worker get together? I am not trying to be argumentative, but I don't want to feel limited or scared as to where I can go. I have bottles of vodka around the house but they don't temp me. A friend in AA texted me the same thing- that her sponsor told her to stay our of bars. I just don't feel that way.

aeo1313

We got out earlier this year because we didn't have any snow days!!

Sapling

How long have you been sober aeo? I know in early sobriety I was real careful where I went.

aeo1313

3 weeks

tomsteve

glad ya made it through, but dont forget that iffen ya hang out in the barbershop long enough you'll end up gettin a haircut.

suki44883

It's your life, aeo, and your sobriety. We all have to walk our own path. If you are able to go to bars on a regular basis and never drink, then that's great. Me, I couldn't do it, especially in very early sobriety.

I wish you all good things.

Sapling

See I have to disagree with this...At three weeks you could still smell the last drink on my breath...I know I wasn't thinking anywhere near clearly....I was a mental wreck...And I'm glad I didn't get that kind of advice...That's just my opinion...This is your sobriety aeo..You can do anything you want with it...I hope you hang on to it.

Dee74

Lets remember that all we can do is share our experience - it's up to others whether they take that advice or not.

Restating the advice multiple times, or arguing with others about their advice isn't really the most productive use of our time.

I'm glad you feel ok with the situation Ann

I didn't put myself in those kinds of situations for a while tho - I knew I had changes to make in me before bars became a safe place for me.

I still had a lot of fun living my life and doing other stuff tho.

It's not like my only choices were 'go to bar' or 'stay home'

D

OCDDan

I made it two years and four months hanging out in bars before i finally gave up and started drinking, it wasn't a very good idea i guess, but it can be done. white knuckles for me tho.

sugarbear1

Congrats, aeo! What plans do you have for the summer?

sugarbear1

At 3 weeks, I had already worked the steps of AA and had no real reaction towards being around alcohol or other substances. It was a non-issue for me.

Everyone is different.

Just don't pick up, the first one leads to more.

Congrats aeo, on another school year over with! I miss those moments!

Hugs,

Dee74

I've removed some posts that weren't addressed to the OP and are best off in PM mode.

D

aeo1313

To relax! I have a basement full of craft ideas and other stuff around the house I want to do. We have a few weekend vacations planned. Catching up on my reading and exercise. Were/are you a teacher?

HitRockBottom70

Thank goodness there are different views and many roads to travel.

AEO, I hope you find one that is safe and you have a beautiful drive.

One question though, how did you get through being around your drinking partner? Does he/she know of your decision to quit? Was the person supportive or trying to get you to have a drink?

I understand you wanting to go out and celebrate the end of the school year. Just because you are only 3 weeks sober does not mean it cannot be done. I just got home from a Baseball game where the person I went with drank. He knew I had quit so me drinking was not a big deal. We had a great time and I'm glad I went.