Newbies Nest

[actiongirl46]

Thanks all! Firsts are great. It is so nice to start doing the things I have wanted to do for quite a while.

j-Vo, I play piano and guitar. Not that well, but that's another story. Have a great trip and keep in touch. I know family time can be stressful. I hope you can find some time to take a break and get what you need too.

Tonight was kind of weird for me. I had a late afternoon appointment with my therapist and came out it mentally and emotionally exhausted. (In the past, that feeling would have been a huge trigger for me. I was feeling very antsy/edgy with AL thoughts creeping in . . . ) I came home, ate a snack, and went RIGHT TO SLEEP from 5 - 7:30pm. Strange. I'm struggling with feeling a little guilty (what mom takes a nap during dinner? but even more, what mom drinks a magnum of wine and staggers off to bed at 11pm??) Everyone was fine. My husband is the cook. I'm trying to take her (the therapist's) advice, listen to my body, and do what I need every now and then. I'm still tired, so I guess I needed some sleep! As an added bonus, when you are asleep during the witching hour, you don't have cravings and you DON'T DRINK.

Here's to strange nights! Take care of yourselves, especially if you are just starting to figure this out . . .

[j-vo]

So happy for your son, Ava. At 22, he's aware of all of the negatives of drinking long-term. And to boot, having you as his confidant, sponsor, mom all in one, right there for him. He's a lucky boy.

Action, sounds like you're making progress, even if it wiped you out. And sleeping is the best thing for us when drained like that. Trying to drag through the night is unnecessary. You did what you needed for yourself. You took care of yourself. Good for you. My husband's the cook in the house as well. He got that from his father, who was the cook as well. Lucky, we are.

Dutch, you sound awesome. So glad your meds are working for you!

Sitting in the airport, waiting to board. I'm becoming a frequent flyer which is strange. I give those who travel for work lots and lots of credit, as this can be a bit tiring. It was packed at 4 a.m. Going through security. Saturday morning, people flying to warm places for a vacation as a lot of laughing and happy faces in line.

Thank you for all of your thoughts. I appreciate it, and I will be checking in daily. Have a good day.

[Lavande]

Good morning Nesters,

The heavy rain from last night has gone & now I am seeing some sun - nice

j-vo, have a safe trip, we are thinking of you!

AG, turning our attention to ourselves is what we have to do, good choice. I am jealous of your live-in chef, wish I had one, ha ha! You will feel better & stronger very soon, just hang in there!

Enjoy a great AF Saturday everyone. I have to go pick up this week's farm share of fabulous organically grown veggies from our Amish neighbors - yum

Lav

[JackDanielsGirl]

Waking up without all of the hangover effects is fabulous :sohappy:

It is so good to read of all the progress and positivity here this morning, as I almost entertained thoughts of trying to get a drink. !!! Then I hopped on here started reading and realized how stupid that was. I understand the disease; however, it amazes me how quickly we forget all the effects of AL on our life, especially the physical ones. It reminds me of touching a hot stove, you get burned it hurts like the dickens, you writhe in pain and think lesson learned. Ill never do that again. And with a hot stove, we don't, but with AL it's like IDK? We forget how bad it really was? How is that even possible? Anyway my ramble for the day. I put my plan into action as soon as it happened.

Doing some grocery shopping with my son (accountability partner), mild cleaning and light cooking today, mostly reading on here and movies, as it is cold. Thanks for listening.

Have a blessed AF day,
JDG

[Byrdlady]

JDG, it really is mind boggling how dirty AL can do us and we keep going back. When I was a kid, I got sick from eating a bag of licorice whips. To this day, I can't tolerate the taste. Wish that would have worked with AL! As sick as it made me, I kept going back for more. ��
Idef, you are doing great, keep up the great work!
Heading home from Charleston. Stay strong, all! B

[KENSHO]

Everyone sounds great! Had a couple "moments" here with family the last two nights, but I just remembered that nothing had changed re: alcohol, and that I am NEVER happy when I drink. I don't want to go back there. And that is that.

Dutch good to hear you are feeling good! Glad for your son AVA.

Beautiful hugs snowflakes here, and I am loving - I mean LOVING - sparking water, snowshoeing, hot tea and use if this hot tub... No alcohol required to feel lucky, alive and connected to my family

[Overit-still]

Great day!

Kensho-you sound wonderful! Enjoy you weekend.

AG-I USED to play the piano and would love to again. I have a keyboard. I'm sure it would start to come back fairly quickly if I actually took the time. Guitar? Would love to play. I thought about buying Keith Urban's thing on TV. I get suckered like that! Right now I'm just trying to find the time to pay attention to my husband so that would be one more thing that he is jealous of.

JVO-Since I just lost my mom, I understand. You are being a good daughter by visiting. Stay strong.

JDG-I understand those AL thoughts. I don't know why we think it will be different than the last 1000 times!

Me? I'm loving the sober life. I'm at work and that is the pits but at least I have a great job and my SUPER BUSY time is the winter when it's snowy and cold anyway.

Gotta run, have a great day everyone.

[Lavande]

Good evening Nesters,

Great to see everyone checking in with happy reports

I've had my grandsons here since dinnertime & am ready for them to go homecsoon, ha ha. At ages almost 5 & 7 they can be pretty rowdy!

Wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[daisy45]

Daisy, did you talk to your sister about her drinking at yours? How did it go?

xx

Haven't seen her since that but I have said to other family members that there won't be drinking in my house. I know it will be discussed among them and the message will get out there. I just would not sit there and let it happen again.......I don't want to say to her directly......her feelings would be hurt.

It is past 3am here....I have been accepting these sleep patterns as part of getting sober but feel I need to do something about it. Getting up earlier doesn't make much difference....I think it is smoking.... I have been smoking more and need to give up but I am very conscious that sobriety has to be a priority.
I am feeling like I am in a good place right now....
I haven't socialised for so long and with being sober I am finding time on my hands. I want to start mixing with the world again. Wrote to 2 friends today. One is coming for coffee next week and I will do lunch with the other one.....they both know I am not drinking and are great.....baby steps!

[actiongirl46]

Hi all - Great day today. I manage my son's basketball team this time of year. It was so nice to be very "present" with him on the ride to and from the gym, to not be hung over at the 2+ hours of games while taking stats (like every game last year) and to take him out to lunch. And not order a beer. It just felt good.

To anyone lurking (which is not a bad thing, at least you are here and learning!) I didn't realize how good I would feel as I never let my head/body get clear of AL long enough to feel good. Getting through the first week was really rough but it takes a few weeks to know how you feel without AL constantly in your head. Just an observation from a newbie.

enjoy your Sunday! AG

[lifechange]

Hi Nesters!!
I've only had a chance to read back 2 pages..
but I want to write because the AV has been stalking me a bit.
I'm not listening to it! I've had a super busy week at work and the kids have been full on.. and my plan to check in here in the evenings after they're in bed has failed as I've managed to fall asleep with themeach night. I can tell that not checking in here is making a difference though. I've made the mistake time and time again of thinking I'm far enough along to do it on my own.. I don't by any means think that this time.. but I do need to make sure I come here as a priority.. so HI!
It's Sunday, which can be a difficult day for me, STILL!, because everyone is home, and though I cherish the family time, I would love right now to have a couple hours to myself.. so the need to escape is great (even though I've had quite a lot of time on my own the past 2 days!). Writing here and just admitting that feels like relief.. and I'm going to practice my favourite tool of staying in the moment.. I know I have time to myself tomorrow, so today I will focus on my kids and their needs. I will concentrate on gratitude.. I have soooo much to be grateful for and I am..

Hugs and strength and a relaxing Sunday for you all!

[daisy45]

LC, I understand that you want to focus on your kids and their needs, but when you need a bit of space, try and get it. I feel it is part of getting sober and staying there.....can you get a couple of hours, even one and then another later, in your bedroom, reading, watching telly, maybe a walk?
The kids will survive.....when you think about the selfishness of drinking......really taking a little time right now when you need it is only self-care. You need it, so put yourself first.

[Lavande]

Good Sunday morning friends

My older grandson decided he wanted to stay over last night & that was fine with me. One of the great things about being AF is having the freedom to make or change plans last minute with no worries.

LC, don't listen to the AV, it's all BS
I understand wanting some quality alone time, I really do. How about sneaking out for a long walk or a spin thru the mall or something? No need to look in a bottle for some mind peace, right? Keep checking in with us, it helps!

AG, sounds like you are realizing the benefits of being AF ~ nice!

Daisy, your sister will just have to accept your decision & that's that! Her choices are hers to make & not your responsibility. You are working hard to make an AF life for yourself, don't allow her or anyone to derail you.

Wishing everyone a great AF day!
I have a hungry 7 year old looking for pancakes

Lav

[moni]

I've been away quite a long time. I'm on Day 5 and so so angry with myself. Perhaps it's being AF 5 days that's bringing some clarity and I'm really beating myself up today. Prior to Christmas I went through a spell of regular bad drinking. I was getting drunk far too often and drinking myself into a feeling of no way out. During this time everything suffered. I distanced myself from everyone, my studies suffered and I'm sure my work suffered some bit. Today I realised that I've been wasting years of my life away on alcohol. Simple as. Not being able to partake in regular things because I feel lousy or worse of all, making excuses not to go places because it would interfere with me sitting at home alone drinking myself into oblivion. What sort of person am I that I allowed myself go down that road. I'm so ashamed and angry at myself.

[j-vo]

LC, I echo what Daisy said. Take care of yourself. Yes, family time is precious on a Sunday, but so are you. Put your quit at the top of your list. Protect it like there's no tomorrow. Protect it for your girls. Protect it for yourself. You got this LC.

Daisy, can you take a melatonin before going to bed? A 3 mg is very effective when I think I may not be able to sleep. Glad you're going to see friends next week. Stay strong.

AG, I'm a basketball mom also, but never had to record stats. We did travel basketball for many years, and it was such a fun time, but yes, foggy for me as I was hungover for a lot of it. Great observations!

90 days here, but who's counting!!!!!!! Have a good day all.