Finallytime

Woke up this morning of Day 7 feeling great. I’ve been on the road for a while, and oddly enough it’s actually easy for me to stay away from drink when I’m traveling, despite bars and restaurants and drink wherever I turn.

Instead, I was a home drinker, at my worst when I was alone home at night (obviously bad enough with my wife around as well since she told me I need to quit, but she had no idea of the extent of it since I gulped down hard liquor straight from the bottle in our liquor cabinet anytime she would turn away or go to the restroom).

Anyway, tonight I will be back home for a quick turnaround before going out on the road again tomorrow, so I need to make sure to plan tonight so that I don’t give myself opportunity to drink. So, what I did was to set up a haircut appointment just before they close at night, which means that I need to stay sober in order to drive there (it’s about 15 minute drive on the highway, so definitely not walking distance). I’ve never driven with drink in me, that was always a hard stop for me (which wasn’t hard since I always made sure I didn’t have to use the car at night).

By the time I’m back home again, I think any urges will have subsided since my main drinking window was between 4 and 7 pm (I was usually sufficiently buzzed by 7 after gulping down booze in secret to not have to drink more after that, I would pass out shortly after that).

So, that’s my plan for tonight.

Erratic

good job hun on 7 days x

thats my hours aswell which i find hard x

good luck tonight x

WhoDeyPI

Sounds like a solid plan. Like you, even at the pinnacle of my drinking, I would never drive with alcohol in my system.

Dee74

Hows it going FinallyTime?

D

Finallytime

Thanks for checking in Dee, it means a lot! Plan is going well! I’m out doing some grocery shopping (which I usually do in the morning so that I don’t have to worry if I can drink at night) before my haircut. A box of chocolate maaaaay have slipped into the grocery bag that I would normally not buy... I saw that several people here reported that they increased their consumption of sweets during a transition period, and I understand why now!

Thanks again for checking in, I appreciate that.

FT

Misssy2

What a good plan you had "finally time" I know that when I was determined like this to quit....I did well....8 years well.....

So the chocolates got in the bag? LOL....

I hope you gave your wife some. ha!


I'm also sure you are going to have a great night with her...and you may not think of a drink that much...but you will of course.

I too like to drink at home and never thought about that is probably why being out in restaurants and bars never bothered me.....its as soon as I get in the "safety" of my home the cravings start....I guess home is not really a safe thing for our sobriety....so good you have an on the road job.

Finallytime

Thank you Missy!

I wish my wife was home, but she’s traveling today, so I’m home alone today/tonight, which is why I thought it best to come up with a solid plan. Being home alone used to be my favorite times to get drunk, then I didn’t have to hide anything. In fact, I wouldn’t even bother with a glass, I’d just have the bottle next to me as I surf or watch Netflix (and I don’t know how many times I’ve had to rewatch shows because I have no memory what happened in the episode).

Definitely same here, being out without drinking was never a problem for me. Sometimes I even volunteered to be the designated driver for my wife if we went out to see friends, but once we got back home I’d tell my wife that I’ll stay up for a bit to “work”, and then of course get drunk in a short time before passing out in bed. So yes, “safety” of my home was never safe from alcohol. But my goal is to change that.

Anyway, those chocolates are DELICIOUS haha

Misssy2

Awe man...I'm sorry your wife missed out on you being sober and the chocolates.

I don't know you...but I am SO PROUD of you....because I know how HARD it is to walk into your drinking comfort zone and NOT drink.

You are making "new habits" and eventually it will be easy....you won't even think MUCH of it....it won't be an obsession....your plans will all be more ingrained than your old plans.

I wish you the best....and hope you continue to do well.

Finallytime

Aww, thank you, that’s so sweet of you to say! And yes! I AM proud to have 7 days under my belt, more than I’ve had in years!

And I’m so proud of you too! It seems like we had similar patterns, so I definitely know what you are going through. Keep it up, I know we can do this. One day at a time until it’s not a struggle anymore, but the norm to not drink or even want to.

Best wishes to you too, and everyone here too!

Hope1989

That's a solid plan ! Let us know how it went. Maybe I'll try it myself!

LiveLikeGold6

Great job on thinking things through, very well done!

Finallytime

Thanks Hope and LLK6, it went really well! By the time I got back I didn’t have the cravings I was afraid I would have, and I think it’s because I was no longer in my usual drinking time window. I was pretty tired by the time I came home, and while there was a little voice in the back of my mind telling me it’s not too late to just have a gulp or two, it didn’t really have any persuasive power and I could easily ignore it. And I think that chocolate sealed the deal, once I was enjoying that I didn’t even think of alcohol.

I’m so happy about how things are going. Whoever said that having a plan is critical was so right (as I’m sure pretty much everyone here knows, but have patience with me I’m late to the party haha). I’ll be out on the road again for another few days so I think I’ll be ok (it’s usually easier for me to stay away from booze then since I’m a home-drinker), but just to make sure, my plan is to stay here at SR and keep posting on my progress.

Thank you all so much, I am so grateful to all of you and your support here.