My sober lifestyle faced it's greatest challenge yesterday!!!...

E

eaglobo

Cathlete
I'm glad to say it's still in tact, as strong as ever!!

Yesterday, DW and I went to a BBQ and Blues Festival, and had our fair share of fattening grub, but it got smokin' hot out, real hot...about 100 degrees when you factor in the smoke and heat coming from the BBQ pits.

The festival was held along a strip where there are quite a few, shall I say, "watering holes"...and I could tell DW was ready for some AC, as was I. Just when we started to make our way somewhere cool, I heard THE VOICE...YYYYOOOOOOOOOOOO!!, JERR,....YOOOOOOOOO, DIANE...there he appeared, my old drinking crony from years ago. After some plesantries, we decided it was far too hot to continue this conversation anywhere but in air-conditioned comfort, as now the fact that I stubbornly ignored DW's request to apply sunscreen had me in the running to win a lobster look-alike contest!!!...:eek:

We saddled up at a local watering hole, and my buddy went off to fetch a round for us...he returned with one for him, one for DW, and yes, one for me....Coors Light...looking ice cold and had my name all over it.

I put it back in his hands...and quietly said...O'Douls please..his jaw hit the floor with a thud, and I think mine did, too. We hadn't seen each other in over a couple years, so I certainly wasn't made that he just assumed things would be as they were.

I told him my buzz comes from everyday life and exercise, and it's a pleasure waking up in the morning clear as a bell, with full memories of what happened the night before...:+

I do enjoy an O'Douls from time to time with pizza or wings, because it does get tiresome going the diet coke or iced tea route time after time.

Yesterday was a big win for me, I just wish my sunburn and full stomach from all the BBQ would let me gloat, pain free!!!!!!!!;-)
 
RE: My sober lifestyle faced it's greatest challenge ye...

Congratulations! I too am trying to lead an AC free lifestyle. I am not an alcoholic, by the grace of God; however with my family history I could get into trouble. I had been having trouble sleeping and started having a glass of wine at night to help me relax.

I am longer doing this out of fear of becoming an alcoholic. Besides, I love waking up feeling refreshed and not sluggish. Thank you for posting this. Oh, I'm still having difficulty sleeping, but I'm not drinking!!!
 
Thanks for posting this; I thought I was the only one. I love my cocktails on the weekends and social gatherings and feel compelled to drink when I know it'll blow all my hard work I put into fitness for the week. Sometimes I even bypass gatherings because I know drinking will be the main focus.

I tell myself consistently I wont drink but I always give in. I hope I'm able to display your will power the next time I'm out.
 
Congradualtions! This is a huge accomplishment. Alcoholism runs in my family. My mom is celebrating her 11th sobriety anniversary this october. I'm so very proud of her. I don't drink due the effects i have seen it have on family members. I find that people who are recovering from an addiction are the strongest people on earth. You should be so very proud of yourself!
 
Good for you, man. :)

I have some family members who are serious drinkers (one got picked up on a DUI last year). They're all a mess, and even the ones ten years younger than me have aged way past my 38 years. Blech.

Life is more fun sober.
 
RE: My sober lifestyle faced it's greatest challenge ye...

Not a beer drinker here but I'm guessing O'douls is a non alcoholic beer?

If so Great for you! You should be proud of yourself :)
 
Jerry,
I have read some of your posts, and I deeply admire your honesty and strength. You must be a truly amazing person. I think it is not only wonderful that you resisted temptation, but that you talk openly about it.
I was going to stop right there, but it is truly touching for me because I just lost my mother a week ago. She was an alcoholic, but never admitted it. It was brought up at her memorial, and her friends (who I had never met before) completely lost it. They got so mad at me because it was brought up. It was so upsetting because my mother surrounded herself with people that never knew her.

So good for you for embarking on this healthy journey, and for being so honest, and for embracing life. You have my deepest admiration.

Jodi
 
RE: My sober lifestyle faced it's greatest challenge ye...

What strength you have, Jerry! Not drinking around my drinking buddies is hardest for me too! It's funny how a lot of people don't understand why you just don't want to drink anymore. I miss out on a lot because I don't want to put myself in this situation. Here's to O'douls!

:9
 
RE: My sober lifestyle faced it's greatest challenge ye...

Thanks for sharing, Jerry. Your struggles have helped all of us. There are many nameless people you have helped without you knowing it! Thanks again, Jerry!
Ellen
 
RE: My sober lifestyle faced it's greatest challenge ye...

Thanks to all of you for the flattering responses!! I'm honored to be a part of the Cathe family!!

When I was struggling years back, I made alot of promises that I intend to keep, and one of them was, if I was ever able to dig out of the abyss that I helped create, I would share my experiences, because, quite frankly, I know I'm not alone, I also know there are those who'd rather not go public with their struggles, which is just fine as well.

Wouldn't be easy if life came with a "how-to" manual?? Everything would be laid out for us, so we'd know in advance when the pitfalls were coming, and how to avoid them.

In my opinion, life is alot like the rules we follow when exercising with Cathe...alot of sweat, alot of hard work, and it does require the double lacing of our shoes to get through the tough parts.

What I can say, with 100% certainty, that every ounce of sweat I've poured out, both with Cathe, and with life's daily battles, have been worth it. I'm a better person because I have screwed up in the past, I wish it didn't take all the foul ups to make me stronger, but it did, and I can choose to fight the battle alone, or share my battles openly as a way of not only self-healing, but as guidance to people who go through the same.

I have no special power, no Underdog super energy pill that I pop daily, no can of Popeye spinach to help me fight the Blutos still ahead of me...all I have is me, just the same as everyone else..the bottom line is...If I can dig out, there isn't a person alive who can't, and I'll be more than happy to join in and help shovel!
 
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