Newbies Nest

[Lavande]

Good evening Nesters,

Wow, I feel good & thank you every one for the well wishes - it doesn't get better than this
I truly believe that each & everyone of us can do this if that's what we really want. The hardest part for me was getting to the point of acceptance but once I did the path was clear. For me, AF was the way I had to go, it's just easier in the long run

Laeot, hang in there, you are doing just fine! Keep your thoughts positive & on things you can control, right?

Thanks again everyone & wishing for a safe night in the nest for all!

Lav

[Dutch1988]

Congrats Lav! Always welcomed your input and still do. Thanks for showing us it can be done and what to expect on this road to recovery!

[Pavati]

Hi, Everyone:

Hooray, Lav. So grateful for all you do around here. Seven years strong. Hope the Stella baked you a gluten free cake. xo

Sorry for your circumstance, El. It makes me feel down and I don't even live near there. Positive thoughts coming your way.

Laeot - try listening to the podcast The Bubble Hour (you can get via their website or iTunes). Two of the three hosts have DUIs in their past, and other things as well. It helps me to listen to them and think, "me, too!" There are episodes for everything. I spent a lot of time listening over the last two years.

Made some homemade pizza for dinner and heading to get some ice cream with the family. Not sure I need the calories, but Saturday nights were MADE for ice cream (along with every other night ending in a Y).

Night,
Pav

[Rahulthesweet]

Hello All,

Dropped in to say hi and was so good to see about Lav 7 years!! This is huge ... Calls for a celebration.

Laeot, I remember initial days ... First 2 weeks are very tricky, your brain does tricks. It gives all the reasons for drinking ... So hang on and take care.

[Lavande]

Good morning Nesters & Happy Easter if you celebrate!

It's going to be cloudy but mild here in my portion of the nest today.
We are actually planning to cookout later today with my son & grandsons, nice

Wishing everyone an AF & memorable Easter Sunday!

Lav

[Quit wining]

Congratulations Lav on your 7 amazing years of sobriety! You truly are an inspiration for so many of us. You're proof that it can be done - if we want.
Thanks for all you do on MWO!

[Byrdlady]

Happy Easter, Fellow Neaters!

Pav, your post reminds me of a friend of mine from years ago. We got to know each other thru a mutual friend on FB. He lives here in town and he had recently separated and his wife moved out leaving him NO furniture. I told him I had a few things I could give him (a nice rug and a chair) so I met him at a fast food restaurant in town. It was lunch time and he smelled like a brewery!! He had the glassy eyes that Im all too familiar with as well. Over lunch, he told me he had attended aeronautics school and was a pilot for a short while. Obviously now down on his luck, I asked him if he still flew. "No", he said, "Ive had two DWI's". With all that, he was still in active addiction. He didnt say it, but I have a hunch this is why the wife left (with their two year daughter). With all that AL had taken from him, he couldnt/wouldnt let it go. This was in 2010, I was fighting it myself.

As I look at the destructive power of Alcohol, it scares the hello out of me. I am proud that so far, I have managed to keep my distance from it. This freedom isnt a given, it takes active maintenance to keep it going strong. Never underestimate the power of addiction. One drink WILL undo everything I have earned and built. One sip wont do any of us any good so just stay clear of the enemy!!! You will be so glad you did. I know I am.
I hope everyone has an easy Easter Day! Byrdie

[KENSHO]

Good morning! Lucky seven congratulations LAV! I know it had nothing to do with luck, but seven is a great number. So glad you have reached that goal here, so we can all benefit from your trials and tribulations. You are an inspiration and tell it like it is. Thank you!

No time to read today's posts, as we are headed up to family for brunch. I found myself wondering if now that I'm eating mostly "paleo", maybe my body can handle alcohol? Of course, I know this is BS. Sneaky little voice. I can't even fully describe the good changes that have come in my life due to not drinking for 100 days... and that's only 100 days. There's no reason to go back - nothing good there. My husband is drinking much less, eating much better, and our relationship has improved.

On another note, I began reading a book called "The Girl on the Train". One of the main characters is an alcoholic and it is very colorfully painted. I am so glad I am not heading down that road.

Happy to be here, and happy for everyone here! I will have more time to read later tonight or tomorrow! Happy Day everyone!

[JackDanielsGirl]

Morning,

Its cloudy here today with a threat of severe weather. Having a wonderful time back home with the family. Hubs and son are spending some much needed time fishing and I am having a wonderful day by myself cooking for supper with the extended fam later. Hope you all are celebrating a glorious day.

HAPPY EMPTY ,TOMB DAY
JDG

[Rahulthesweet]

Hello Nesters,

I wanted to pop in to share my thoughts about my on going love with sobriety. 2 years back I found my bottom. The bottom which may come at any age for any one and at any stage of life. For me it came when I was in a hotel room after crashing on a 12 pack ..

Zoom two years ahead ... I enjoy sober life. I just returned from Switzerland. I have been going there once every year and I absolutely love that country. And over the years I have been loving it for all sorts of reasons. Iniitally I use to love it for chic bars, variety of beers from all over Europe. I have so much booze in streets of Zurich. At once stage I almost slept in a bar. Drinking and drinking ...

How I have changed that to adventure now. I guess everyone needs a high and my supply of dopamine now a days is coming from cycling. Hiking another activity I love but my knee is still weak I guess for it.

"You have completely changed your life style I see now you cycling and I remember how much you used to drink,why did you leave ?" ... Asked a friend whom I met at a social circle party. I could sense in him he was not asking "why did I leave" ,.... I could sense him asking "how did you leave ?!!"

I found the perfect answer which any alcholic could related to "Ah my lipids used to always go out of control. Cholesterol etc ... AL is just not for me" . "I am also thinking of giving up".. came the remark ..

I wish there was. Simple answer to how I left boooze. It's a long yet a simple one. I found my bottom and WANTED to do something ...

Then I came here to MWO. Read a lot , googled a lot.

2 days back I did 100 km run. Last time I tried it I fell and fractured my knee. Now recovered it felt good to reach that milestone. And I did it in the country I love ... Switzerland.

So in Geneva where next to fountain, when my strava meter reached 100km which took about 5 hours of cycling ... I saw myself comparing with myself 3 years back ... The high I got with fresh natural supply of dopamine was nothing compared to any artificial high I ever got from booze.

I felt good to reach a mile stone of 100 k on saddle. And I would like to dedicate that to all the folks here at MWO who made it possible for me. I could have never imagined doing this while drinking ...

Life is just so great sober

[Lavande]

Good evening Nesters,

I had a wonderful day with family here, perfect really.

Rahul, such tremendous changes you have made in the past two years - excellent!! Life without AL is definitely good!

Hi there Byrdie, Kensho , JDG & everyone dropping in tonight!
Wishing a safe & cozy night in the nest for all.

Lav

[Eloise]

Lav- been thinking about your 7 year accomplishment. First, congrats on this. 2nd, I have to say staying connected here makes more and more sense to me as time goes on. Sober time I mean.
Thanks for sticking around and demonstrating that staying off the booze can be a reality, but it does indeed require a consistent and sincere effort. Bless you!

[Lavande]

Good Monday morning Nesters,

It's a rainy day here in my portion of the nest, oh well.
I'm anxious to get outside & start some gardens but it's really too soon.

Kuya, there is no understanding the behavior of these extremist groups. You just can't rationalize random murder & suicide.

El, staying connected here is a simple but effective tool.

Wishing everyone a wonderful AF day!!

Lav

[Byrdlady]

Good Morning, Fellow Nesters!
Back to the salt mines today....what am I saying, we didn't get any days off for Easter...:egad:

Eloise, how wonderfully you stated the maintenance portion of all this....."It requires a consistent and sincere effort". That says it all. I have seen COUNTLESS people accumulate huge (YOOOOGE) numbers, only to wander off on their own and fall pray to the constant media blast of EAT= DRINK= BE MERRY. Believe me, if I thought I could go off and be ok, I'd have done it ages ago. It does take time to check in here all throughout the day and to try and come up with something to say that reinforces someone's efforts (or my own). It takes a sincere and consistent effort!!!!

I understand that the odds of relapse are great. I also see HOW it happens, and I bet you do, too! You can pretty much see it coming in posters here. It's the 'PILE ON' that seems to get most people....one thing happens (and it gets exaggerated by the Alkie Voice) and then we almost start LOOKING for reasons to believe that having that drink is a good idea. Then by the time 5 o'clock rolls around we have totally convinced ourselves that drinking to escape is our ONLY option. It really is a vicious cycle. (Vicious being the operative word).

This is where MINDSET comes into play. Here is where 'Drinking is NOT an option' (said in the voice of Ed Harris in Apollo 13, 'FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION'). Whatever happens to me, I am NOT going to drink thru it. It's just off the table. Period.

Thank you for that thought-provoking sentence! You are proof positive that we can persevere thru the bad stuff without AL and come out stronger on the other side.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!! Byrdie

[Eloise]

Yeah Brydie, and another stressful day here that would indeed be compounded by having a drink.
I haven't posted a lot lately, I am not always sure I have much to add. However, I do think just because I have managed to not drink for almost two years I must have something to add, right? A little comment or two that might resonate with someone reading. It is pretty amazing how many non-members there are lurking. Alcohol is tricky for a lot of people, it just becomes less important to us the more we drink. "oh I am not as bad as the neighbour.' I could always name a few friends who out did my drinking.
There are lots of folks who need help getting those early days going, and maybe just showing up and saying 'yes, you can do it, it is possible' helps too. I know I love to see Lav, Brydie, Sam, Micks... etc... checking in month after month, year after year...

I have learnt a lot about myself through this forum, and my anxiety, the past months and I now realise how destructive drinking was for me and my mother. I actually think wine has made my mother's life a lot more difficult than it actually might have been as a person with MS and schizophrenia.
I also think that my turning to drink was how I was conditioned by my family to deal with the unpleasant things in life.
I do not think I ever heard 'hang on sugar, this too shall pass.' This said, I am now far less ashamed of my drinking somehow.
My father was also a big part of shaming me. He drank, encouraged me to drink, and when I drank too much he loved to point it out. No one likes that.
'Oh well' is all I can say these days.
Now I focus on doing things that make me feel good about being me. And there is a lot to feel good about.

And I do not feel better than anyone else by not drinking. Stopping is the first step, as they say, then the hard work starts. And I well remember how hard stopping was!!
All I can say to those starting out is 'it is worth it, hang on tight as this too shall pass.'