Hello Sunday Morning | Brooke

I’m finished. Time to reflect, dream & choose.
31/12/11 • 2 Comments

So, I guess I need to say, ‘hello first sunday morning of 2012 to ya’ll’… my time has come. 3 months. Finished on the most alcohol fuelled occasion of the Aussie calendar. How appropriate. I was able to have a drink last night for the first time. I admit, I was actually a little scared at what might happen to me… firstly I couldn’t decide what I wanted it to be (truth being I wasn’t craving any at all – so I chose an over-priced welsh cider), secondly I was worried that I may no longer like the taste of it & thirdly I didn’t want to get drunk to only end up feeling like crap…. So I drank it. I sat on a milk crate in our backyard, tea-light candles burning, re-learning to play poker & gambling away our money jar & drank my first alcoholic beverage in 3 [...]

So it’s been a long time since my last blog post…. reason being I don’t like to talk about myself that much & exciting you with things like “didn’t drink today – I went for a walk instead” or “wanted a drink today, instead I had tea”. Believe me those moments have happened… and they come and go but to tell you the truth I don’t feel I need to share them. What I thought I would share are my mixed feelings two weeks from my finish line: Feeling 1: Anxious. I haven’t felt the pressure of booze the entire 3 months till now… it’s christmas and that equals celebration. Celebration equals drinking. Drinking equals socialising. What does all that equal – I’m not being incredibly social this year & I don’t know how I feel bout it. It’s a choice I’m making I guess… I don’t want to be [...]

Second milestone…. in the bag.
15/11/11 • 4 Comments

For my hello sunday morning journey I’m taking myself through 3 important events…. totally sober for this first time in lets say – a looong time. No 1: 29th BIRTHDAY- done, 3 weeks ago.So it came & went – not too hard (see previous posts for all the details) No 2: FAMILY WEDDING – done, 1 week ago. This one was a first for me…. I remember weddings where (because the booze was free & usually of high quality) I’ve drunk myself into a state of satined dresses, black-footed bare feet and a possible pashes with strangers. For this one though, I did feel in control & although I may have had 1 too many coffee’s before the reception – felt quite ok as the sober one… I just drank water from my wine glass, toasted when others did and stayed cheery…. I may have felt more content than usual [...]

1 out of 3 major ‘social’ hurdles done
31/10/11 • 4 Comments

When I started this – it was because I wanted to experience 3 significant events without alcohol for the first time in 15 odd years. I wanted new experiences, I wanted to say to others ‘it’s not that hard & yes we can all do it without alcohol…. if we choose to’. So I made it. I turned 29 without a champagne (or 10) celebration. There we’re certainly moments (especially when close friends looked in horror at my iced tea choices with dinner) when I wished I could celebrate like a ‘normal’ adult but as quick as the feeling comes it goes. As a sober celebrator – instead of heading for a drink in Fortitude Valley (‘the valley’ as it’s known by it’s high heeled stumbling community) for a late night drink we went people watching. We just stood in the mall and watched normally pleasant, sensible people get shit-faced, [...]

So… just quickly – I\’ve hit the 1 month mark! I\’m in the process of experiencing my first birthday without alcohol in 15 years and celebrating my 1 month sober mark… and turning 29 in style – feeling all of about 5 years old…. sa-weet. Already today I\’ve had a human unicorn sing happy birthday, was allowed to wear a sparkly blue party hat at work, ate cake with pink frosting, had a phone call from a college in Brisbane who turns out is a long lost relative from Tasmania (who\’d have thought!)…. yowsers so much! Clearly I have to make it through tonight yet. With free booze around, friday night relaxation (my ultimate drinkies time) and celebrating to be had I\’m determined to stick to the soda water and feel all the love oozing from those i love… (that\’s my plan). There have been hard bits already in this [...]