So I’m sitting here in my jammies, with the clock about to strike midnight, and it just dawned on me that I have gone 330 straight days without drinking a drop of booze. Yes indeed.

I have to admit I sniffed it here and there. My friend was recently drinking a glass of fancy red wine that she said was divine. So I asked her if I could take a whiff. And you know what? No interest.

I have encountered so many surprises during this challenge of taking a break from alcohol. And one of them has been that somewhere in between Day 100 and Day 110 (I can’t quite remember) I totally lost the desire to drink alcohol. Gone. Poof. Just like that. I was a drinker of booze for many, many years and now I no longer want it.

Oh, Sauvignon Blanc, how I loved thee. But now I’ve kicked thee to the curb. Maybe for awhile longer or maybe for forever.

It’s so strange that these days I put alcohol in the same category as sardines. I don’t want a thing to do with either one of them. Here are some other surprises I have encountered during my journey, in no particular order:

• I am now a bona fide meditator and love it. For eight straight months I’ve meditated every day and doing so has been hands-down life changing. This is a practice I plan to carry on for life.
• Things that used to bother me rarely get a rise out of me. I attribute this to the combination of no booze, consistent meditation and the overall practice of mindfulness.
• When I decided to do an alcohol-free challenge I knew I would encounter resistance and eyeball rolls from others, but I never in my life imagined just how much of a minority I would be. Alcohol and regular drinkers are everywhere and they are the social standard.

I can hardly believe that I only have 35 days to go to achieve one of the biggest goals I’ve ever set for myself. Of course, I didn’t get here by being a lone wolf. Thank goodness for my fellow challengers. What a crew of fun, supportive, fully present people.

So that it’s for today.

Cheers and love,

Kathleen