I did it!!

I did it!!!! One year ago today I started the journey to learn to live an alcohol free life. How can I even begin to pack all that into a single post. A year ago today I gave myself a one year goal with the just under my breath idea that after a year I would "get" to go back and drink successfully. It was a pretty good strategy as far as early sobriety strategies go. Far enough out but still kinda doable. Took me 30 years to get here really. What is that point for anybody where we are really ready to make a change. A mystery really. My dad rode the train all the way to the sad end. I just got to a point where there wasn't any illusion that I would do anything other than come home each night, start that ritual of drinking until I "fell asleep" aka passed out, and wake up feeling like crap. How could I have known how much life I was not living each and every day. How very human we are. How very common addiction is. What I would say to anyone contemplating sobriety is that it's true what they say. "You CAN change, you better believe it. The tools ,the community, the support.....all essential. Open your mind. Read and learn. I would really encourage that. AA is great for some but it's so great to see alternatives take hold in the field of recovery. It's hard but simple. Not drinking is the easy part. Learning to feel your feelings and navigate the world as a newly sober 55 year old is tough. But each challenge, each kick *** rough day, each set back goes somewhere new and great. It's true, it gets better and better. Can't wait to begin year number two. Now I think "I GET to be be sober not I HAVE to be sober. Sobriety is to be enjoyed not endured. My sad little beast sits in his corner. I have compassion for him now. He is always with me. I will always keep an eye on him. But it gets easier and easier to spot his tricks. I am in the drivers seat now and it has been 1000% worth it. Yeah!

Congratulations, Avalou! You have packed a lot of truth & wisdom into one paragraph...thank you for sharing. Tonight I will hoist a non alcohol beer in your direction! :DE

Congrats on your first year, YAY. I love the part about "I get to be sober, not I have to be sober."

LOVE & HUGS, James :hug

Wonderful :)

Congratulations avalouwho2 :br

Such great news and a wonderfully inspiring post!

https://static1.fjcdn.com/comments/I...f626b05a13.jpg

Have a great day or at least a crappy sober one!
:))

The joy you are experiencing on your first year of sobriety reminds me of my own. Thank you for that, avalouwho2. Here's to your next year and the following years ahead. It gets even better, trust me on that.

Love,
Sam

Congratulations, Avalou! I really liked the positive energy of your post. I'm in my second year of abstinence from the BOC of gambling. I've learned so much in SMART--including how SMART tools, meetings, and forums support recovery across DOCS and BOCS. Thank you for sharing your success. It helps me to maintain recovery today, and, hopefully tomorrow and the day-by-days after that.

Congrats avalou!

Thank you all!!! Boy it feels great to feel a sense of giving back these days. I've gone through slow periods of posting. My only SMART activity has been posting which just kinda works for me. But lately I've been much more active and it reinforces my abstinence and feels great to encourage those still learning the ropes.

This is exactly the kind of thread/post that inspires . I'm only 3 weeks sober but have managed as much as three months in the past. I feel good and remember how great it felt to be clear headed and "normal ". Your enthusiasm comes through and helps inspire me.....thank you !

Very inspiring post . You are right about us being human and these addictive behaviors being so common .
I have the power to change was very helpful for me as well.
Kudos to you !

Congrats! I'm 1 year tomorrow!!! I really felt that part about having compassion for your trickster now, after the year-long argument with mine, I feel like I've firmly set the boundaries. I'll throw it a bone every once in a while and think "yeah, you're right, if I knew what white claw tasted like, I would also be 'one of the cool kids'" and then chuckle to myself at how silly it is.

Well done on that year ylimeyh!

Go you!! :br

Your enthusiasm is so inspiring. And I really like what you said, "Now I think "I GET to be be sober not I HAVE to be sober. Sobriety is to be enjoyed not endured. My sad little beast sits in his corner. I have compassion for him now. He is always with me. I will always keep an eye on him. But it gets easier and easier to spot his tricks. I am in the drivers seat now and it has been 1000% worth it. Yeah!"

Big congrats to you!

Happy New Year

q7

Thank you for sharing this. It's inspiring.

Awesome. Great job.

Thank you for sharing this. I can relate to much of it and appreciate you for giving me hope. I love the quote below so much! Lol

“My sad little beast sits in his corner. I have compassion for him now. He is always with me. I will always keep an eye on him. But it gets easier and easier to spot his tricks.”

Wow, I found this very inspiring and exactly what I needed to hear right now. Congratulations, and thanks so much for sharing

I'm someone currently struggling with my BOC and just wanted to say I came across your story & it inspired me, so much. Like a few other people have said, the line that especially resonated was "I GET to be be sober not I HAVE to be sober."

Thank you.

I'm off to go make better choices today.