Feeling like my life is mine and not some strange warped version of it. Maybe that's not such a tiny thing.

TPT

Not having to do "addicts' mathematics" in this moment. I don't need to consider how much I can drink, how I have to space it so as not to black out, how much I should get from the store to last me through the evening, when would I have to stop to be sober (enough) by morning etc.

LOVE this thread! By the way, there is a Gratitude section of this site with lots of these types of things posted daily, which is also great!

Not having a part-time job of alcohol management: Getting it (always needing cash so it doesn't show up on a credit card statement), hiding it, drinking it secretly, disposing of empties - simply exhausting
My ritual of making up a super-clean bed daily
The ability to drive my kids anytime without a second thought

TPT

No aches and pains. :)

Googled TPT and got "trailer park trash". Thought, well I suppose that's a positive thing, not drinking yourself into the title of "trailer park trash". Then remembered the thread title, LOL. :e058:

:lol: Cityboy.

Also...kk..."addict's math" is a good one. When I was conducting my Great Moderation Attempts I would use wooden matchsticks on the countertop to keep count of how many drinks I had. As if.

The first three - pretty easy.

Fourth one. Hm, did I put a matchstick down?

Fifth...I'm pretty sure I put the matchstick down.


You know the drill.

Three? Eight? Meh. Moderation tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll write it down. Yeh. That's what I'll do. That will work better.

I can have an argument and not look back and wonder if it was me or the alcohol speaking. What a relief!

Re moderation, I mixed water with my wine...until I didn't. Tried so many things. Now I can see how i was wasting my energy! Clarity is wonderful!

Been troubled by some aches and pains today (unlike Bim ...healthy much? :P). Nevertheless, today we collectively noticed:
*What it feels like to regain control over your life and not be an on-looker anymore
*Absence of the compulsion of doing addicts' mathematics and volunteering full-time as a boozie for the (Uncontrolled) Salivation Army
*no aches and pains (or having aches and pains on occasion, but still continue kicking)
*the pleasure that comes from neatly making up your bed
*the ability of driving your kids to anywhere at anytime
*control over what we say in an argument and knowing that it wasn't the booze talking
*mental clarity that makes pristine creeks want to amp up their game

I just had chicken wings, so my TPT is tasting food and, more importantly, having a healthy appetite to begin with :)

Keep em coming :)

Clean underwear.

Iwent for a pair and since I’ve been sober I’ve never been out. I would always put off laundry until tomorrow...it’s drinking time. Or the classic start the wash, black out, next day have to set the wash again. I actually started buying underwear, a months worth...safe!

Now I have too many cause laundry is pretty damn easy to stay on top of whilst sober.

kudos to the not having to do addict math posts. I would draw lines like you see with people in jail on tv. So when I got to five and to do a diagonal...was it 4 straight lines first, ARE those 4 lines I see? Is that squiggly my 5th line? Are those doodles or drink counts? ****.....

Man, I never did any sober calculations. Once I went I just went.

TPT - early morning calls on a Saturday with a dear friend on the other side of the world.

I still overslept and she had to wake me to remind me we'd planned the call, but it wasn't 'cause I was hungover! We had a beautiful chat, and I wasn't groggy or nauseous and my mouth didn't feel like sandpaper.

Now I have the whole weekend to be productive, to do some exercise, to run some errands, to tidy my house (although it's already neat because ... sober people are tidy people).

I love my friends, I love my sober life. I love this thread too, kk, thank you.

The pleasure I get from giving my dog good food and treats. :) Tonight I put some pieces of watermelon in her dinner and she wolfed them down first thing. :) I really enjoy being present and clear-headed to take good care of my dog and cats. :)

One night per week, or so, I just cannot sleep. But sitting here at 4:15 a.m. is exquisite because I know when a new day dawns, I will feel a little tired, but otherwise I will be just fine. These moments do not stress me out anymore. I cherish them and am grateful for every moment my head is clear.

TPT

Enjoying birdsong, green leaves, rocks under my feet. Nature is fabulous and it is something I look forward to daily, from the hope and beauty of the pink sunrise to the quiet of the purple sunset.

Reflecting on the day is something I missed when I was drinking. I just plunged headlong into the night with no thought for how I might do better tomorrow.

Echoing surrendered, I have already said it but waking up not hungover! It is amazing. I slept like crap last night but that is nothing compared to having a hangover and being sick all night and the next day!

Please excuse the lack of a silly roundup of great tiny things, I'm battling a bad headache. Which brings me to my TPT - a clean and warm bed to sleep in when I need a break. Another thing is that people now actually say "sorry to hear that, do have any idea why it's hurting?" because they no longer simply assume it's due to a hangover.

Thanks to all of you who went further down the drinking road and talk about it, I quit before it got too bad . . . . still, there are many positive elements of quitting.

I may have been drinking about $8 dollars a day. A year and 11 months of not drinking means a saving of $5,560 (pretty rough calculations). That is a chunk of change for this woman . . .wow.

TPT

I don't spend a lot of time replaying things in my head. They happen, I move on.

My TPT was finding the wherewithal, that I'd been building up to, to finally cut a toxic person out of my life. Sigh of relief, but also sadness. The AV is circling. Poor AV, I'm no longer it's victim.

In my case it was not just the expense of the beer, wine, or booze. If driving two hours or more to a job site, I would prefer to get a hotel room close to the job site and that way I could begin drinking immediately. Also would drink more because I could sleep later in the morning, not having to drive the two hours. I had hotel expenses, eating out expenses, and additional alcohol expenses like an extra bottle of red on top of the normal beer amount. My credit card statements seem to be averaging $500 to $750 a month less now.