A Major Victory
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Sobersville, USA
Posts: 159
A Major Victory
I thought that I would share this.
I am 43 days sober today, and I haven't had any serious cravings. Until today.
I know that I need to stay away from my former party buddies, but it's not always possible.
I have been having serious plumbing problems. The bathroom flooded and waste backed up into my bathtub. I am not much of a handyman, and I'm still new at a job after being unemployed for a while. I cannot afford a plumber.
I had a couple of the boys over to help. They were only too glad to do so.
A time-honored tradition for this sort of thing is, when one gets help, he buys the beer and the food. I suppose I could have asked if they would go without beer, but I couldn't do that in clear conscience. I needed the help, after all.
I bought a case of beer this morning, and we began working. We had to dig up the front yard. It was frustrating and hard work. They were drinking. I wanted one. Badly.
I know that big trouble would be ahead if I had done it, but I also know that the first one would have gone down like nectar of the gods.
We got through it. After the job was done, we went down to a secluded beach, where we have partied hundreds of times. I bought another twelve-pack.
They drank and smoked pot. I sipped my Starbucks green tea. I think those were the hardest moments. A beautiful afternoon after a back-breaking day of hard work. It would have been so easy to reach down and break out a brew.
I didn't.
I gave them a ride home. The guy I had in the car last is a worse drunk than I ever was. He was slurring his voice and wasn't able to buckle his own seat belt. He looked liked a wretched, miserable human being.
I dropped him off and he fell down on his ass getting out of the car.
I wasn't like that. Was I? Ohhh, noooo, I was a dignified drunk.
Yeah. Right.
Sometimes it might be a good thing to get around the old party cronies again. It can be an eye-opener.
I made it through the day without a drink, and I am very happy about it. I know that more challenges await me in the future, but this was a major victory for me.
I am 43 days sober today, and I haven't had any serious cravings. Until today.
I know that I need to stay away from my former party buddies, but it's not always possible.
I have been having serious plumbing problems. The bathroom flooded and waste backed up into my bathtub. I am not much of a handyman, and I'm still new at a job after being unemployed for a while. I cannot afford a plumber.
I had a couple of the boys over to help. They were only too glad to do so.
A time-honored tradition for this sort of thing is, when one gets help, he buys the beer and the food. I suppose I could have asked if they would go without beer, but I couldn't do that in clear conscience. I needed the help, after all.
I bought a case of beer this morning, and we began working. We had to dig up the front yard. It was frustrating and hard work. They were drinking. I wanted one. Badly.
I know that big trouble would be ahead if I had done it, but I also know that the first one would have gone down like nectar of the gods.
We got through it. After the job was done, we went down to a secluded beach, where we have partied hundreds of times. I bought another twelve-pack.
They drank and smoked pot. I sipped my Starbucks green tea. I think those were the hardest moments. A beautiful afternoon after a back-breaking day of hard work. It would have been so easy to reach down and break out a brew.
I didn't.
I gave them a ride home. The guy I had in the car last is a worse drunk than I ever was. He was slurring his voice and wasn't able to buckle his own seat belt. He looked liked a wretched, miserable human being.
I dropped him off and he fell down on his ass getting out of the car.
I wasn't like that. Was I? Ohhh, noooo, I was a dignified drunk.
Yeah. Right.
Sometimes it might be a good thing to get around the old party cronies again. It can be an eye-opener.
I made it through the day without a drink, and I am very happy about it. I know that more challenges await me in the future, but this was a major victory for me.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Sobersville, USA
Posts: 159
Thanks. I can't hide from my old friends forever. They were there, without hesitation, when I desperately needed help. With no judgement at all about how I have been avoiding them.
I'd love to see them quit, but they have their own roads to travel, and I wasn't about to lecture them or act superior about my weeks of abstinence. Friends should not judge one another, and they should be there in times of need.
I'd love to see them quit, but they have their own roads to travel, and I wasn't about to lecture them or act superior about my weeks of abstinence. Friends should not judge one another, and they should be there in times of need.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 378
Sounds like your sober muscle just got bigger!
Situations like that can be a great learning experience, as long as you're ready to face them. It's not like alcohol just disappears from the surface of the Earth once we stop drinking. It's an important skill to be able to be around it and not succumb to the temptation.
Congratulations on handling it well.
Situations like that can be a great learning experience, as long as you're ready to face them. It's not like alcohol just disappears from the surface of the Earth once we stop drinking. It's an important skill to be able to be around it and not succumb to the temptation.
Congratulations on handling it well.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Eastpointe,Michigan
Posts: 278
Good for you not drinking this time. It is amazing to watch people from the other side. I have had to deal with drunks while sober too. God I wished I wasn't that bad. But I know I was. Are you going to A.A.?
quat
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: terra (mostly)firma
Posts: 4,822
When I was drinking I'd have traded all possible tomorrow's away to be the guy you dropped off. Eff it diem, it's odd how sober muscle helps to see the price of what one afternoon's "enjoyment" would actually cost. First of all it would not have been just the one afternoon, just an arc on a never ending cycle.
Great job getting through, and glad the plumbing is back in better order. Best part from this vantage point it's easier to,see how fleeting an afternoon is and how much better the rest of the day and tomorrow can be .
Great job getting through, and glad the plumbing is back in better order. Best part from this vantage point it's easier to,see how fleeting an afternoon is and how much better the rest of the day and tomorrow can be .
Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: U.S.A.
Posts: 346
"I wasn't like that. Was I? Ohhh, noooo, I was a dignified drunk."
HAHA! Me too!...except when I wasn't. Also, nobody ever thought I had a problem...except for the people who told me I should cut back.
Congrats! Glad you made it through that I bet it was tough. A good workout for your physical and sober muscles. Also, It must feel good to get that plumbing work done.
HAHA! Me too!...except when I wasn't. Also, nobody ever thought I had a problem...except for the people who told me I should cut back.
Congrats! Glad you made it through that I bet it was tough. A good workout for your physical and sober muscles. Also, It must feel good to get that plumbing work done.
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