SOBER

Right before Thanksgiving, when I was taking stock of my health and my progress, I made a pretty solid decision. That Thanksgiving would be my last day of drinking alcohol until 2016.

Drinking is pretty much the center of my social life - and I have to assume it's similar for most folks in their 20s and 30s. Friends come over to hang out? Pour some wine. Meet a friend for dinner? Enjoy a drink with your meal. Out of the house at night? Probably at a bar...and you guessed it...drinking. The problem with this is that I really really really hate being alone. I'd prefer to have someone around, even just to watch TV with, than to do it solo. And because of that, I've been consuming way too many empty calories in liquid form.

So, last night, when I asked my friend if she wanted to come over and watch TV (as I'm want to do), our exchange went something like this:

Me: Come over and watch TV.
Her: Are you not drinking?
Me: Yup!
Her: I want to come over, but also wanted a drink...so...
Me: You can have a drink here! I'll drink tea.
Her: Cool.

This exchange may seem trivial or bizarre, but...I'm actually incredibly proud of myself for it. In times past where I'd say I wasn't going to drink for a given amount of time, I'd usually break pretty quickly because my friends still wanted to drink. I'd say I wasn't going to partake, but inevitably I would. This was the first time I can really remember sticking to it.

It's a silly accomplishment, but this morning when I woke up and saw the half empty bottle of wine in my kitchen, I was reminded that I made a choice and I stuck to it. And that's something to be proud of. And now, by telling all of you, I'm holding myself truly accountable. No turning back now.

I also held myself accountable for my second run tonight. When the day is shitty and terrible things happen in the world (like today), sometimes getting outside is the only way I can make sense of things. I'm not going to get into a gun control rant on here because that's not what this blog is for or about, so I'll keep this entry short.

Thanks to everyone for your support. As always, let's keep doing this.