If I decide to give up on cheese (perish the thought) do I announce it? Not really. If decide to get a mortgage, yeah, you might kind of announce it. If something seriously life-changing like having a baby or getting married, an official annoucement is usually expected. But booze? I’ll let you in on my secret. I’ve just started a new job this week & it’s kickass, I loved my first 5 days. Until today. It’s Friday, and you know what that means – Friday drinks. But here’s the kicker – they don’t know me very well. They don’t know that Im a heavy bingey drinker. They don’t know that I use alcohol as a deserved pat on the back for a job well done for working so hard. I’ve earnt that binge. And Im known for it. But not here. We were told that there was $200 behind the bar & to help ourselves to it. Without a word, I simply ordered a couple of diet cokes & a pint of half and half water & lemonade (my favourite non-alchy drink, sounds awful, but try it, subtle lemony bubbles with the actual quenching of water in a big pint with lots of ice). Just as I thought, no one said anything about why I wasn’t drinking. Why would they? Im the newbie. Tomorrow’s a different story. A Father’s Day thingo has be organised & I know Im seeing immediate family. Perhaps I’ll get away with it as it’s a morning get-together, but who knows, soon enough, someone’s going to find out that Im abstaining for a bit. Mum’s reaction is going to be the most cringeworthy. While I appreciate a general curiosity, she’s going to over-react – in the most supportive way. As soon as I say this I want to immediately retract it. She would want me to be successful with this, she would even make changes that would accommodate the ease of me doing this – such as breakfast get-togethers & the like. But that’s just it. Right there. While it’s her way of showing support & love, I feel like I’ve put everyone out, awkward, in my ‘not having fun’, no one can have fun. I don’t want to give this an announcement. It’s just a simple decision. I don’t want to feel awkward & would be mortified if anyone was going to change their lives just to accommodate me – I’ve given up on the booze for a while, I don’t have leprosy. We can still all go to the pub.