The Gift that Keeps on Giving

June 23rd, 2020 was the last day I drank alcohol. I had been attempting to quit months before that day but it wasn’t til that day that everything fell into place. I decided I had way to much to lose if I didn’t quit. My then 16 year old daughter came to me and my husband letting us know that if we didn’t quit she would move out and move in with other family members. I knew it was serious and I had to change. That was the final push I needed to decide I would do whatever it took to not drink alcohol.

Up until that day I would go a week, 10 days, even made it 23 days once. I wasn’t fully committed though. This time I made quitting my number one priority. I had joined an online community where there goal is to be sober too and I held myself accountable to myself and this community. I reached out when it got hard. I learned so much about addiction through books, videos, and podcasts. I wrote out my reasons for quitting as well as making some videos to remind me how tough it is in the early days and that I didn’t want to go back to those first few days, looking back at those inspired me to move forward.

I began noticing changes in myself. I began to feel happiness again and confidence in myself. I started to see that there is so much possibility in this world and so much enjoyment to be had. I began losing weight, my face became thinner and today I am down 16 lbs just from not drinking. My marriage is stronger now. My husband and I were on the verge of divorce when we were drinking and now we are closer than ever. We spend time together every day, we talk and communicate with each other we enjoy being together. Our relationship with our daughter is fantastic. She respects us again and opens up to us and wants to be around us, that is one of the best gifts not drinking has given to us.

Since quitting I have began writing regularly, gotten more into crafts, and even started playing the flute again (something I hadn’t done in 25 years). I am more present in the relationships I have and get joy from the small things in life like the roadrunner and quail I saw yesterday while outside, or the geese by the ponds near us, and the beautiful Arizona sunsets. I used to take those things for granted, now I am much more mindful and have more gratitude.

The first couple weeks of quitting is difficult but as you begin to make new routines and see that you can live your life without alcohol it gets easier. By the third week I noticed it was significantly easier than those first two weeks. The weekends got easier too, they’re not a trigger for me to drink anymore, now they’re a trigger for me to get into a craft or go for a ride with my family to the lake, or just work around the house.

Many people enjoy alcohol free drinks to substitute the drinks they used to have. For me I used to mix cranberry juice and 7up in the early days and now every so often I’ll have an alcohol free wine called Nosecco. There are tons of options available and you can find many on Amazon.

Wether this is day 1 or day 21 for you don’t give up, the benefits of an alcohol free life are truly remarkable. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.