Almost One Year.....

Happy Rock Chalkin Saturday! It's been almost a year since my Friday nights were filled with wine, my Saturday morning hangover routines and of course Sunday Funday's.  

I just turned 38 on the 27th, I have spent almost every Birthday in my 30's at my favorite local dive, Harry's.  Someone once told me it was like I lived in "Cheer's" because let's be honest, if you've experienced being a regular, anywhere, "everybody knows your name" when you walk in.

This year was different, instead of taking Friday off to consume a hearty liquid breakfast to get through my box wine hangover, I got up, and went to work!  Now I never said I didn't go to Harry's, I did, but I ordered a VP no vodka; which is just soda water and sprite with a lemon wedge, very refreshing, highly recommend it!  If you prefer lime, hey, we all like what we like!  Now 6 months ago I would not have dreamed of being able to walk into Harry's, sit at the bar, and politely decline a drink, shot, anything, and instead, accept the double water on the rocks my Harry's homies are ordering for me.

Now like I said in the beginning, it's been almost a year, technically it's almost 9 months, since I have walked into my local liquor store and picked up a box, not to be confused with an actual bottle, of adult grape juice.  Which was becoming more and more of a regular stop than a weekly one.  

It took me a hot minute to be okay with not ordering an alcoholic beverage because I always have.  I was one of those people that didn't understand people that didn't drink, why, do you have a problem?  What about on a date?  What about when you're on vacation, an airplane, a sporting event, a concert, a Saturday, Christmas morning?  Literally without knowing it, alcohol had pretty much dictated what I could and couldn't do, dependent upon their drink menu and availability, naturally, because, that's totally normal....wait is it?  No sis, it's probably not.

This blog is my break up letter with alcohol, a love letter to my past and opening up about my present, finding myself at 38 and learning that sobriety is actually pretty f*cking awesome if you can embrace it and just do you!