Anyone in the First Week of Their Unpteenth Quit?

[Ginger999]

SS, I'm so glad you are back! I've been keeping your seat warm for you Please message me anytime if you want to talk? I miss you!

[Lizann]

SS, welcome back! Thread has been going strong and I'm so glad you started it. Tired after a long day at work. Just a quick check in. Have a good AF Friday night.

[open halo]

I agree SS, so happy this thread is here, it is my one stop on the MWO! Hope everyone heads into the weekend doing well. Busy weekend with family coming into town. Wishing everyone a wonderful Mother's Day weekend :hug:. I know I am tryng my best to become AF because my kids, and myself deserve it!! :love: SO does everyone here..

[actiongirl46]

SS - welcome back! I am a newbie but have found my way here. Thanks to your great title and the wonderful folks that keep this thread strong. I love this thread and feel very close to the people here!

SS, as you are the first post on this thread, I see your initial post often before I switch to the last post. Would you mind telling us your story? I'd love to hear it. If not, no worries, just happy to have you with us.

Mr V - I think 8,000+ is a great goal. There is no research that I know of on the 10,000. Really, I think its just a number someone picked. But for me it is good, as it takes just a little extra as a sedentary person now to get those steps. Today, only 8823+ so not so good but at least its not the 2,000 it was this am!

Great job on the workouts MinS! I'm so proud of you! Can't believe baby is 7m. Wow. Such a fun age.

PW - I caught your slip RIGHT AWAY. Not sure why but I did. I'm not sure I handled it well on here (arg! Im a such a rookie, this is hard, don't know what to say really!!) but I tried my best and just came from my heart. How did today go? How is your mood? You are in my thoughts, wishing you peace and happiness . . . and an AL free life. Keep posting please!! Regardless of where you are at in your quit, we (I) need you here with us.

OH, do you have any tips for getting back in the saddle after a relapse?? I'd love to hear those.

Ginger, Cowboy, Liz, anyone else I missed, hoping you are well! Take care and "see" you tomorrow! AG

[Ginger999]

Tonight I did something I've avoided this past year but it went just fine. My sisters and our hubbies went to a winery to listen to my nephew play. He sings and plays accustic guitar. He's really good and he writes a lot of his own songs. It was a gorgeous night and even though there was some wine and beer around, it didn't bother me. I'm thankful for that. I felt like a normal non-drinking person. We enjoyed the music, talked, laughed and enjoyed the warm evening. See just like normal!!

Hope you all enjoy your AF weekend!

[SoberSoul]

I know I use the word inspiring and Ginger in the same sentence a lot but again, what an inspiration you are my friend. Another hurdle crossed!

My Story: I'll keep it short. I am a left handed, tiny, olive skinned, Canadian Libra of French Canadian and Maltese decent. My talents are humour, empathy, peacemaking and home making. My faults are indecisiveness, lack of discipline and willpower, self-sabotage and passivity. I began drinking daily in my early 40's after my marriage had fallen apart and when my adopted pre-teen daughter began to act out in a way that was very destructive and scary.

When I met my current husband we began our relationship by sharing a bottle of red wine which we made ourselves every night with few exceptions. This worked well for me for years. I happily lowered the curtain of oblivion every evening and fell into bed in the arms of my lover passively forgetting the trials and trauma of my life.

About 10 years ago I began to recognize that my drinking pattern was obsessive, interrupting my sleep, causing me heart palpitations and preventing me from growing as a person. I floundered for a few years with the idea of sobriety and became active in my pursuit of an alcohol free life about 8 years ago having many stops and starts here on MWO but never achieving any more than a few weeks of sobriety at a time.

Like all of us, my culture was violently opposed to my abstinence. It was if I was trying to upset the world every time i refused a drink. Being a people pleaser and lacking self discipline I have never managed to achieve much sobriety although within the past year I got over 100 days in.

I have no obvious consequences or fall out as a result of my drinking but my identity is damaged and struggling to take it's rightful place in the seat of my soul. Simply put: I am not the woman I want to be and I am running out of time. There is so much I wish to do on a physical level and on a spiritual one that cannot be accomplished while drinking wine most nights.

So here I am on the second day of my umpteenth quit knowing that there will come a day when the battle ebbs and my life becomes authentic and real. I get discouraged but am still confident that I can become the sober, conscious woman that is there just below the surface beckoning me.

That's my story in Reader's Digest form.

[Lizann]

Beautifully written SS! For me I think the "romance" attached with wine is where I get hung up. I'm so glad you're back with us.
No definite plans for today. Cloudy outside. Actually hoping for some rain to wash some of this pollen away! Talked to both my sissys last night. No mention of al and the conversations were very upbeat. We are all getting together tomorrow morning for breakfast at church with our mom. The guys prepare for us. Ok, I'm making the quiche today. Anyway a ton of laundry awaits me as I worked so much extra this week. Dare I mention that we may be booking our european vacation this weekend? Fingers crossed!
Have a good one guys. Thanks for being here.

[Lizann]

Ginger good for you! Did you think you would be tempted before hand? I was so caught off guard the other night when hubby bought some beer to a BBQ with the guys!
Cowboy, do you work on the weekends too? How long is the seeding season?

[Ginger999]

SS, this is why I LOVE you! You are so honest and real. Your situation would make it so hard to stay quit. It's almost like you are an outcast when you try to. I feel for you and want you to know that I'm hear to talk any time you need to.

Liz, enjoy your sister/mom day at church. I'm glad things are settling down with your sisters.

I hope you all got the sarcasm in my "just like normal" comment in my last post. I was so caught up in being like "normal" people that I drank even more from the stress of trying to be. What is "normal" and who really is? That's different for each one of us. The bottom line is. Who do you want to be? When you look in the mirrow, do you like the person you see? Trying to be like or please others is a recipe for disaster (IMHO). We can beat this AL addiction if we focus on "US" and quit for "US". We can't let others dictate to us what or who we need to be.

Min, AG, BG, Mr. V, ABC, Chief, OH, Pauly, SS, Liz and anybody else I missed; hope you all have an amazing day! You guys are my rock and I thank you for being here.

[Ginger999]

Ginger good for you! Did you think you would be tempted before hand? I was so caught off guard the other night when hubby bought some beer to a BBQ with the guys!

Did I stress about going: No / Did I have a twinge when I walked through the tasting room to the outside seating area: Of course and I'm glad... I don't want to get complacent in my quit. The twinge gave me a chance to pull out my arsinal and dust it off. I know for me, I have to be able to go to these kinds of things occasionally because I don't want to miss my nephew's singing and song writing or his 6 year old daughter singing a duet with him. I want my life to be full of things like that and AL to be a non-issue. I think I have to begin doing the things I've done in the past but without the AL. I'm strong enough in my quit now to do that thanks to the help I've received from all of you!!

[ToMyHealth]

Hi ~ i'm not new to MWO. Just started counting AF days on May 1, been in NN which is great but like Minstar said can be overwhelming.

First off I want to say that I came here looking for SS or at least inquiring about her & voila there she was! SS, have always loved your writing & totally get how you feel in the AF lifestyle. No doubt, it is hard. Dh has been a little edgy this week, & I know he thinks I'm more fun when I drink, etc. i have to work on not withdrawing because I admit I lose interest in going out for dinner, tend to rush through dinnertime to get over the witching hour, etc. anyway, about you. I am so glad you are back!

BG - I strive for at least 10K/ day. I count from minute feet hit the floor til bedtime. Fitbit is giving me fits. Love it but it won't hold a charge, max 8 hrs or so. Need to contact them.

Mr V. - same for me on NN altho lots of words of wisdom there.

PG - hi. Always liked you & read your posts. Sorry for not quite making it to 60, but WOW 58 is good! Think about all the AF days you had! Personally, I have not made 30. Usually get to 2 weeks. Want to do it this time. Day 30 will be at a big family wedding & Day 31 is our anniversary & plan to be out on a boat with son, his gf & 2 gsons. Yikes!

Ok, need to get a workout in. Gosh, it does feel good to wake up 2 Saturdays in a row w/o a hangover!

TMH

[Chief]

Hi All.....well, Mama Duck hatched 12 babies this morning! They're all out of the house and in the water with her, swimming around, eating bugs and exploring they're new world. It's so cool to watch every year.

To those who are struggling....if you've slipped it's not okay but it's not the end of the world either. The big thing is how you handle your slip. It's very tempting and easy to say "screw it.....I drank so I may as well keep drinking." Then it changes from a lapse in judgement to a total relapse back to drinking constantly. We are never happy when we drink......never. It always ends up the same way. So keep coming back here and read and post with your quit buddies. We're all in this together.....

Well, gotta go mow although I have to be careful....I don't want to scare the new babies!

Don

[paulywogg]

Hey all, awesome on the baby ducks Chief, good to see you SS TMH,definitely contact fitbit, a charge is supposed to last for 5 days, I read of people having that problem and fitbit sends a replacement, Ginger, glad you had fun, I've been avoiding nearly everything trying to stay sober, not living life I guess, maybe that's not a good strategy cuz I think I need to figure out how to actually live sober, not just not drink, I'm really sorry for drinking you guys, I always try to be positive about sobriety, but I guess I just let negative feelings bring me down, hello to AG,Mr.V,Min,OH,Beachy the whole gang, have a wonderful Saturday

[Ginger999]

Pauly, what matters is you bounce back! We need you here as much as you need us.

[SoberSoul]

ToMyHealth, glad to see you here!! You know you just saying I like your writing makes me feel like I contribute a little around here rather than just taking (which is the way it feels) and that is a huge tool in my sobriety; feeling needed... so a big thank you for that. We have a lot in common with the hubby who secretly (or overtly) wishes we would drink. Also my track record is not very good for long term quits and either is yours ;-) Dinner at our place is totally orchestrated by me and when there's wine, there's often cloth napkins, bread in a basket, no TV but when I don't serve wine it's glaring light, unmatched plates, TV blaring and I sit with half a cheek off the chair.

Note to self: get your ass in gear when it comes to sexy AF dinners...

To every one else, let's keep up the battle you've been fighting our my behalf in my absence. Ginger, you are able to go to wineries!!!! You are actually able to go to wineries!! That's like going to the moon for the general population!! Glad you are still hanging out to encourage us slackers!!

Paulywogg, being a pro at relapsing a word of advice: nip it in the bud and one day you'll be able to claim sobriety from your original start date with a little hiccup instead of a whole new start date which is so discouraging.

Lizanne, wow a European vacation ... and being present and consciously awake to take it all in ... sober and wide awake is the way to go.. we don't want to miss ANYTHING again.