The Sober Squad- Alcohol Free Living

Hello to all
@JenT304 Glad you had a great visit with your girl.

Not much new with me...surviving the winter so far so good...looking forward to spring LOL How many more sleeps?? Too many to count from this end. We had sun first thing this morn for the first time in too long and then the clouds took over!! Oh well, this too shall pass........eventually!!

Hello all. This is so weird but I think I have the first job in my life I’ve truly loved. I’m super overqualified (don’t even need a bachelor’s and I have several post-grad degrees) and took a huge pay cut but the job brings me joy! There’s sadness in juvie but also hope and hilarity. I’m slowly winning the battle against the “occasional” drink. It just doesn’t work for me. Holidays are a challenge. Wishing us all a joyous strong few weeks.

Not much new to report, but still here, going strong. Hope everyone is well! Happy holidays to all, whichever ones you celebrate!

@janthemom8 Yay on 210 days...and @no44s4me Congrats 9 months...it gets easier & better.

Another Soberversary for moi...my Quitdrinking app alerted me this morn to 500 days AF ~ 2019.1 drinks passed ~ $3230 saved (not literally, but in theory lol) and a whole lotta health uppers!

Good way to begin the day other than some sadness for me as I realized that today is the 5 month anniversary since my beloved brother died....I posted a pic on FB and bawled away...tears are good cleansers of sadness & grief. Lesson for the day: Do not hold the sadness in, it will just come out some other way and it will make you sick and make you want to drink to dull the pain.

Hope everyone can find some joy in their AF journey this day

Good morning friends! It's been a busy weekend but all good. The kids are home from college and staying with me - one on the couch, one in the spare room. I am happy.

Speaking of pain and alcoholism... my cousin who is like a brother to me, drinks a lot. His wife found three bottles of wine on the kitchen counter one morning. He also seems to text me late at night - I assume when he is drinking. Anyway, when we go out (which is rare- because I don't want to drink to excess like him), he always says "Well Il'l never make it to 50." "I'll die young anyway." I tell him to not say that because what you say to the universe can come true. His philosophy is sure he drinks a lot, but he loves it and doesn't want to quit. I said join the club! We all like it- too much. That's the problem!!

So, you're right when you say, that someone will not stop until the pain gets too great. It is a deeply personal journey being an alcoholic. Like my sister says, some families have illness, some families are violent... and our family has alcoholism.

By the way, I bought her two beautiful bottles of Pelligrino - I mean holiday bottles in a box. Looks just like a fancy bottle of booze. She will love it.

Ruby red..........your post reminded me of my old friend from high school, my first girlfriend who I did stay friends with for years. My friend Bev, the one who died of a fall and did nothing to get medical help, would have become a grandmother this month.......her only daughter gave birth to a healthy baby boy.............

the sadness, the pain, the hurt that her daughter is going thru because her mom isnt there to help her ,to share her joy really says it all.........I just wished my friend Bev could have seen the devastation and pain that her death caused.....maybe , just maybe she would have changed her life.......don't know if she would have , but the pain her poor daughter has had to endure because her mom died because of alcohol is devastating..


I thought, wow..............if her mom died in a car accident, or cancer, or some unpredictable disease that there was no cure for , maybe it may have soften the blow, but her mom refused to stop drinking..matter of fact, I begged her to go to AA, and she laughed and said she didn't believe in God or a higher power.....and she did once check her self out of a rehab clinic that helped deal with alcoholics because she swore she didn't have a drinking problem.....
alcohol destroys people and destroys the people who are left behind.............

Well, hello everyone. Wishing you all a blessed holiday this Christmas Eve, however or whatever you celebrate.

So, I have been up since 4 a.m. Anxious, mind everywhere, ear ringing (as always now). Yep, alcohol on board. I realize it's been almost 2 years since Ruby started the original thread that brought me here. I'm still struggling, but I have a definite sense of what I need to do. I just went back and read my posts from my longest AF streak to remind myself how different my life is when not drinking. Especially the anxiety. I came across a post of a picture RubyRed posted that said "Anything that takes your peace is too expensive." Amen. Alcohol definitely takes away my peace, and though it may stop or deaden the ear ringing for a bit, it's not worth it because I wake up at 3 with it ringing away.

I noticed that in the successful streaks I've had, I've posted here almost daily. So y'all may have to put up with me. This group is such an important support. I'm loving my new job. It's pretty much stress free. So now is the time to give myself the gift of an AF life. I don't know why it's such a huge struggle. I'm going to consider this my Christmas gift to myself.

A funny thing: @whitpauly, I'm assuming you live in Vegas? For a long time, I've seen your "6:45 in Vegas another 24" posts and thought, "Man, that woman takes a lot of trips to Vegas! Strange choice for someone committed to sobriety." It finally clicked that you must live there.

Have a wonderful day, everybody.

nighthawk584 wrote: »

Hi everyone and Merry Christmas....Even though I have some mild holiday blues going on, my mind is not telling me to reach for the bottle. That is my gift to myself this year.

I've had the blues a bit too😭 this is a TOUGH time of year but I'm trying to look on the bright side,I'll be 160 AF tomorrow woo-hoo,so I gave myself a gift of no hangover (although some mornings still suck) no wasted money on booze,no driving under the influence,no blackouts,no dry eyes,no ignoring family and all the many,many things being AF(I like Al free instead of the word 'sober' for some reason) so yeah it's good👍 @donimfp yep I've lived in Vegas on/off mostly on since 1999 I'm a NV native anyways but my hometown is waaaay too little to make a living so I'm here, Happy Christmas Eve and I'll take 24 more, have a wonderful day 💗

Happy Holidays everyone!
I am so grateful to you all for your recent posts, and for being able to share here. It’s helped to keep me grounded these past couple days. Today is ay 156 AF for me (@Whitpauly - I too prefer the term alcohol free to sober.)

I celebrate Christmas, and my whole life Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were high-volume drinking days. This is the first year since my late teens that I won’t drink. I am struggling with feelings of missing out on the fancy cocktails and nice wines, and breaking tradition (?? Of drunkenness and hangovers??). There will be booze all around me, and we are hosting both days. Tonight will most likely be when our guests are more rowdy, as we play games and time will get competitive in a fun way. (hope it’s a fun way. First Christmas AF, so I don’t; really know how things will look through my new perspective) Also, it’s a smaller group and nobody needs to drive. I’ve decided that if I become annoyed with the behaviours of the drinking folks, I will excuse myself to my room. I will be pleasant and kind, and not act a *kitten*. If things get too loud, I am prepared with earbuds and Netfilx on my tablet.
Wishing you all a warm and loving holiday *hugs*