I have been quite busy the last few weeks. Work Work Work has all but drowned out the rest of my life. Of course, when you live in the Midwest in winter, is there really much else TO do? I suppose the cross country skiers might enjoy the cold and the snow. Maybe the snowmobilers too, but after all, you have to have snow for those activities. For me, its more the knees than anything else that take the utter pounding from the cold. Then there is the "precipitation" and I use that word painfully. Ice, snow, sleet, freezing rain, freezing drizzle we have gotten much more than our share of the precip this year. At one point about a week ago we had just about every form of precip falling from the sky except cats and dogs! I finally had to stop one night and ask God to stop the insanity.
Its been exactly one year. Seems like a small thing to some, but I have been stone cold bone jarring head turning crazy like a fox SOBER for exactly one year. And counting!!! Yes I guess I am bragging a little, but considering how I did it and why just dumbfounds even the most hardheaded folks around these parts that know me best. The last drink I had was during the 2009 Super Bowl. I had tried to quit before during the Christmas Holiday in 2008, but a friend of ours showed up before the big game, and I just had to have a couple of drinks that night. As luck would have it, though, once I started in ernest, I found I craved alcohol less and less, and it became easier to go longer without a drink. Then, of course, as the weather got better, I was on my Harley a lot, and I just could not see myself drinking a couple of beers at some far away watering hole, and then hopping on the Harley to try to get home. What is most interesting is I can go into just about any bar tavern watering hole what have you, and I still do not have the thirst any more. I still have moments of weakness, such as the night a friend "suggested" we go to a local Irish pub and have a pint or two of Guinness. Over the last ten years or so I have had a bad weakness for darker stout beers, and Guinness is one of my all time favorites, but as luck would have it, I was able to stay away from the Guinness and keep my sobriety.
All this sobriety has given me newfound freedom and wisdom. I am losing much of the weight I have carried around for many years. I have taken to avoid fast food wherever I can. I am also becoming a bit of a tea addict, as if thats a bad thing. Tea and water are my only drinks now. Even pop is losing its grip on me. I used to love the Mountain Dew, Dr Pepper, root beer, and such. I am more patient as well, and maybe even more realistic. Unfortunately as with things like this, it has come with somewhat of a cost. Folks I thought were friends now shy away when I tell them I don't drink. Where I would once enjoy the friendship of a trusted friend I have found there is now some measure of rejection. It makes me wonder if these folks were worth friendship if they cannot respect my effort at sobriety. I will never forget, however, my father telling me how proud he was that I chose to stick to my guns during Thanksgiving (Thanks POP!) and also the compliments of other family members and close friends who have urged me on in this pursuit.
As the New Year began I had all the hopes for a great year, however, it isn't always the best of times. The suicide of a friend has served to remind me of how fragile life is. Cancer has also claimed the life of another friend and former coworker. My sister too, has suffered loss of a trusted friend Cheyenne. Life can be a bitter pill at times, but death is part of life, and at some point I will learn from those lessons. Its how we deal with these trials that is the measure of our character.
Peace,
B
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