Today's very special NSV

I was just having one of those days today. My eldest daughter was talking back to her mother and ignoring any reprimands. My youngest was talking over everything we say and laughing at our inability to complete sentences. For a change of scenery we decided to head to BJ's and do the bulk shopping. The kids love the free samples, and the change of scenery often alters moods just enough to put everything back to where it belongs.

Unfortunately when we got to BJ's their credit card machine was down and we were extremely limited on what we could actually purchase on our list, since we don't tend to carry a lot of cash. My wife and I argued over stupid, inconsequential stuff.

None of those things is a big deal. All of those things combined is a minor nuisance to most people. Unfortunately I am not most people. I am an alcoholic, and the biggest flaw in my character is that little things snowball into big things quickly and uncontrollably. It doesn't take long for all those little things to end up pushing me out the door and to the liquor store.

Something different happened today though. We got home from BJ's, I put away the groceries, and much to my (and my wife's) surprise, I went upstairs and changed into my running clothes. I kissed her on the cheek, told her I would be home in about a half an hour, and went for a quick 3 mile run.

My NSV is that today I didn't drink.