“Oh, you’re so boring!”
“What???,” I say kind of perplexed and irritated all rolled into one.
Yes, as I sit here happily home alone on New Year’s Eve 2018–soon to ring in Serene 2019–if I had a dollar for every time someone has called me boring during the last 323 days I would have a nice stash of fun money.
Tell someone you don’t eat broccoli or gluten or meat or snails–well, that is A-Okay. But heaven forbid I tell someone I’m not drinking alcohol for a year (maybe more…well, maybe for forever) and I seem to spark a revolt.
Just five minutes ago I read an article in the Washington Post telling a tragic story of three young children who were killed yesterday in a car accident with their parents. Hit by a drunk driver while they were innocently stopped at a red light. And then there was the recent article in USA Today conveying that deaths due to alcohol are on the rise for women. Oh, and then there are the realities of disrupted sleep, depression, fuzzy thinking and weight gain. All pinpoint-proven to this thing called booze.
Boring? Me? Are you kidding? I absolutely feel as if, after all these years of seeking, I have found the secret sauce to living an amazing life.
You know what I find absolutely boring these days? Being around tipsy or buzzed people (ahem, I used to be one of them so no judgement here).
Now that I’ve taken a break from alcohol for almost eleven months, I feel happier than I have in ages. My decision-making abilities and critical thinking are so much better. I sleep great. I’ve saved tons of money. I have an inner sense of calm confidence. Things that used to ruffle my feathers hardly get a rise out of me. And I no longer hang around people just for the sake of having a drink together. Rather, I spend more time with truly authentic people and I value more authentic time with myself.
So on this New Year’s Eve I am so, so proud of myself and am completely enamored with my fellow challenge group members from One Year No Beer. I highly, highly recommend that anyone who drinks alcohol–and who believes it gives them a better life–sign up to do a 90-day booze-free challenge and see what unfolds.
So tonight I raise a glass of sparking water to me, myself and I. The three of us are having the best time together.
Cheers and love,
Kathleen
Snooze the Booze 
lynbattle
Another great Blog Post! And so true, Eileen! Even those who give up other addictive substances such as cigarettes or coffee, get more support from their peers. Alcohol seems to be the only drug that one has to make excuses to NOT take! And it even gets separate billing: “drugs and alcohol”- huh?! I think we act a little ostrich-like around it because it is so ingrained and accepted in our culture. We are raised to see it as a prize for reaching the age of maturity… a Grown Up badge of honour… something to aspire to attain. And many do keep it in its place, many of the Mediterranean cultures come to mind where a glass of wine with a meal seems to be “it”. Not the start of a binge with the bottle. For me, it was: fill the glass regardless of the size, and drain the bottle… I found using a smaller glass helped me to cut back a lot. I seemed to gauge my sipping rate to match the volume in the glass lol. Bit like portion control with a smaller plate of dinner! But I still topped up the glass til the bottle was empty…
My husband and I normally celebrate New Year with a few ‘quiet’ drinks at home; that often led to harsh words, a tantrum, tears later on, or if all serene, at least a sluggish start to the New Year. This year we still had “drinks” but alcohol free for me, it certainly didn’t spoil the sharing of the event, we were in bed before midnight, and woke fresh to a new day and a New Year!! Having 8 months alcohol free in 2018, I managed to learn how to sea-kayak, train for and complete a solo circumnavigation of our small-ish island (28km nonetheless!) then learn to Eskimo Roll, start painting, firm up my yoga practice, lose weight, tone up and got fit! My husband noticed! So I am really excited about 2019 and what I can do starting the year off sober! No wasted time this year “thinking about it!” (In fairness, I actually did Dry January last year, but then relapsed on holidays in Feb which led to a boozy March, fortunately finding OYNB in April – the rest, as they say, is History!!!!!!!!!!! ) Yes, anyone who says they are a moderate drinker, fully in control and enjoy their habit – the Challenge is: take a break and see the difference!!!!!!!!! Happy New Year!
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Snooze the Booze
Thank you for your amazing note. Yes, you have hit the nail on the head–alcohol seems to be something that our culture trains people to aspire to do and have…like a prize. You are doing great on your alcohol free journey. Cheers…
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maiworldnow
So proud of you!! You’re an incredible inspiration! I also had an alcohol free NYE and was happy to wake up bright eyed!
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Snooze the Booze
Cheers to you Mai!
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