I’m doing it again. What do i want my life to look like? being sober has given me this gigantic space to fill… the rest of my life 🙂 and some days i have my head down, just doing my thing.And other days, like now, I stop and look up, look around, and I think: going forward what do I want to do?
Last night, under the covers, exhausted, i said to Mr. B: “maybe i don’t want to write a sober book because i don’t want to be sober forever.” he knows enough to not engage me when i talk like this. i could tell he was smiling though.
as i continue to process a decent sized watermelon-worth of doubt, i do know one thing for certain. I want a bakery. I want a cafe that serves roast turkey and cranberry sandwiches, ground beef chili flavoured with smoky chipotle, and toasted onion bagels with a really good cup of coffee. I continue to believe that being sober is the only way this bakery will happen for me. I don’t want to be defined by sobriety. But it does provide the foundation for everything else.
So. Onwards.
how to get a bakery?
#1, be sober.
#2, earn and save money.
#3, find investors.
#4, be sober.
#5, be sober.
~
This isn’t a real suggestion, but wouldn’t a Sober Bakery be great? Not an AA venue, but somewhere where sober people like us get together, and you know that you are likely to meet friends who get it if need be, and the owner really really understands that good cake is mandatory. FY wolfie jewellery on display, and if people want an impromptu meeting that works too.
AA, merits or demerits aside, doesn’t have appealing, convivial venues. I would like safe sober spaces with appeal and ambience, because church basements can’t ever compete with fancy wine bars for comfort. I like your bakery idea, I’d like to think it could be a haven.
I can totally picture this – sunday afternoons after brunch… the place just becomes a big living room. where you can have cake, tea, coffee, and talk about sober stuff. like open mike night for sober peeps… bring your guitar 🙂
HI Belle on day four no wine/whine for the wahine. A bakery sounds great!! I’m finishing up a 2 year degree in culinary here in hawaii baking is an awesome creative outlet.
That’s been a dream of mine as well.
Thank you for the 1 year sober wishes – I am so happy and proud of myself today. And thanks for the support from you Belle and all your readers xxx
I don’t want to be defined by sobriety. – Belle
But … WE are and can’t not be ….why, b/c we are alcoholics. The moment we allow our sobriety to become less than the definition of who we are (not ALL we are), we move one step closer to a drink, which for me … is closer to drunk.
I relapsed on nicotine TWELVE YEARS after my first quit …. I do not play with complacency and distraction from my program of recovery for my problem drinking … cuz just when we think “WE GOT THIS” …. Wolfie will jump out of the grass unexpected and BITE ME IN THE AR$E. I’ve heard it too many times from people with years and years and years of sobriety. Be wary of arrogance, ego and complacency. It is fatal.
I have a Bakery/ Cafe here in the U.S, One of my sandwiches is the Turkey Terrific! Smoked Turkey/ Stuffing/ Cranberry Sauce/Mayo on Homemade Portugese Bread! It’s the biggest seller 🙂 Also a Rosemary Onion Bagel..no wonder I was drawn to you! Great minds? It’s seasonally open and come May I won’t have time to even think about anything but the store. Counting the days. Come visit!
fun fun! I make onion bagels. onion and rosemary sounds perfect! I also do lemon and dill : )
I want to visit too!! This sounds like heaven to me. Belle… I live right next to a huge cranberry farm – can I be your cranberry supplier?!!
yes please!
Thank you for this. I am at a crossroads myself right now. I truly don’t know how to fill my days now. I did in the beginning but after almost 2 years, it’s getting hard. thanks for this post, I needed it.
When we are drinking, the planning/doing/recovery from that takes most of our energy. Sobriety surprises us with huge tracts of unadorned time- and finding a driving purpose/passion, I think, keeps us from easily sliding back into drinking too much.
I still hold the thought that in the future I will drink occasionally- certainly not every day- maybe once or twice a month. But at day #140, the changes related to not-drinking are still coming so fast that I feel the need/want to continue on this path for now- and have promised myself at least the rest of 2014. After that, I’ll see…
Will you have some gluten-free products in your bakery, please?!
Well if you DO open that cafe/bakery (and I have no doubt that you will if that is what you really want to do), you HAVE to let us know where it is. “Le girls” et “le boys” will be your best customers, especially with turkey and cranberry sandwiches on the menu! (Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.)
Joan B.
yes, I’ll have an open house party just for de sober girls/boys : ) I’ll have to have canned cranberry sauce imported, but if that’s what it takes…
I like this. I’m trying to find my purpose. Have been for awhile actually. At least now I’ve got the energy to deal with it. Thanks for being there. Confusedliberal
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Hi Belle. I understand that longing to fill time with something productive. Isn’t it funny that while drinking, our biggest thought/concern was when to have the next glass of wine? These new questions are so much healthier. I think of being sober the same as being free of cigarettes. There is no question that I would never smoke again – just as there is no question I will never drink again. New goal for life? Taking care of this body and mind to be the best it can be. Period. Love your bakery/deli ideas. Wish I was close enough to enjoy your cakes! Hugs to you Belle.
Trish