I'm sober.day 10.Thank you,friends.

[w8liftinglady]

Thank you for caring.It has been difficult...very difficult.I decided to allow myself a cigar now and then...and not try to do the whole cold turkey thing.Thank you,DU,for your love and support.

[NMDemDist2]

1. so glad to 'see' you WLL!!

and let's take one addiction at a time eh?

:hug:

:loveya:

:pals:

[MediumBrownDog]

2. WAY TO GO, w8liftinglady!

Hang in there! It's hard for me too, wine is interwoven into our social lives and our daily life like you would not believe. When I first started this, I could not imagine a meal without wine. It panicked the shit out of me. Now, I am working to break that trigger, whether it be in a restaurant or at home. Sparkling water is perfectly fine. I'm not saying I don't long for that glass of cold white wine -- oh, believe me, I do. But I'm trying to prove to myself, one meal at a time, that it's not necessary. I can't remove myself from my life. But I think I can remove alcohol from my life and still live it. I'm hoping that I'll find that my life is so much richer without it that eventually, I won't miss it. I hope that for you, too.

Hey -- so far, we didn't drink TODAY. That's all that matters.

:hug:

MBD

[NMDemDist2]

3. i GAVE AWAY over $1000 of premier vintage wine when I got sober

I craved it for weeks but there was no way I would stay sober with all those cases of vino around

it's amazing how fast you enjoy that sparkling water, iced tea, cappuccinos and hardly give it another thought but......

even all these years later, I will say that wine with dinner is still something that springs to mind now and again. but i manage without it.

cooking without it was tough to learn, but juice, flavored vinegars and broth have been fine substitutes as I have learned

hang in there MBD :hug:

[idgiehkt]

4. Congrats to you!!

Very good to hear. I don't blame you for not going cold turkey on the cigar thing; it can be very taxing. I waited two years to quit smoking after I got sober. You may not realize yet how much you are helping other people by the things you share about your recovery, but you are. Now I'm getting all weepy because I am remembering a friend I met when i was just days clean/sober. I used to notice him in the first few meetings I went to at what later became my home group...his eyes were always red, and he sometimes seemed distracted, and a tear would sometimes slide down his cheek. I would stare at him and think 'he has to be stoned, he's high' or something of that nature. I came to the meeting one day after a particularly bad night (probably in my first or second week of sobriety) and talked about how I'd had a horrible night of cravings (I didn't go in-patient) and how I just lay on the bed that night fighting the urge to drink or get high with all my being. I always assumed that no one was ever listening to me in those early meetings; it even actually shocked me sometimes when I would say my name and they would answer back, lol. But after that meeting L. came up to me and thanked me for what I had said, he said that it had really taken him back to early recovery and the physical withdrawal part of getting sober, and put him right back in that feeling of being newly clean before the body 'forgets' that it can live without alcohol. I was surprised and couldn't quite grasp how anything I had to say could help anyone.

A few months later L. stopped coming to meetings and I found out he had died of cancer. That was the reason for his tears in meetings, he had decided not to take painkillers during his cancer and was in serious pain most of the time (I've had other friends go the morphine route with terminal illnesses and I think that is one of the things AA has 'no opinion on', to each their own). But it taught me a whole lot, that interaction with him and the things I learned in the short time I knew him.

[varkam]

5. One day at a time, right?

Say that enough times to yourself, and you start building a track record. You should be proud of what you've accomplished thus far. :pals:

[Kajsa]

6. That's great, w8liftinglady.

You are so right, try to concentrate on one thing at a time.

Right now, you're dealing with not taking that first drink,
one day at a time. That's enough!

I'm so happy for you!

Together, we can do this.

And please don't forget to hook up with your Higher Power
anytime you need to. There is an amazing amount of power there.

:hug: