Dry for March 20 days in

Another ten days have gone by with no booze, and a rationed caffeine intake. It has been pretty easy to stick to, by and large, but I have had a couple of wobbles. Well, three actually.

The first one was on the evening of the 13th when I was out in a foyer bar. Everyone else was drinking wine and I kind of wanted one too, but not to the point of giving in when a glass was offered. I did apologise to people for being boring and having a soft drink, but there’s nothing to say sorry for is there? Not like having a glass of lime and soda is going to hurt anyone, so no more carrying on like that from now on.

I get where it comes from though. Lots of relatives who are extremely heavy drinkers, who try to make you feel bad if you don’t want to keep up with them. So, not going to let myself feel bad about that sort of thing any more.

Incidentally, there are also a few people in my family who took The Pledge – tee-total non-smoking surrendered-wife types – on the crazy Baptist side. I think the whole scenario led me to the path of moderate drinking, as it was the only form of rebellion left open…

Anyway, then there was an incident where I had my purse stolen, and wondered whether I would be forgiven for having a small brandy after calling the bank. But after thinking about it for a few moments, I decided that it hadn’t been especially upsetting and I was just probably looking for any old excuse to have a brandy.

The third and final thing happened on Sunday afternoon, when I was sat near to someone having a coffee. I’d used up my coffees for the week by then, but the aroma was so deliciously enticing I nearly caved and ordered one. I had a chamomile tea instead, and it totally did not hit the spot, so I won’t be doing that again in a hurry.

I’m sleeping a lot better now, and there’s a definite improvement in being able to drop off at a reasonable hour. I’m also feeling a bit more energetic and awake in the mornings. Not exactly ZING! But an improvement.

Have you given up alcohol or caffeine? What was your experience like?