a couple of days ago, I suggested that you think about what you can NOT do this year, in order to avoid being overwhelmed and keep your sober car on the road (in this busy month). i shared some ideas here, and today i’m going to share a few more (i got loads and loads of emails!).
happygal (day 19): “I host Christmas dinner every year. This year, I am ORDERING some of the food and LETTING OTHERS bring things. That is a layer of overwhelm I do not need this year. Also, my grandmother asks us to go to an event at her church that is always very loud and crowded and my children get to bed late on a school night. It always causes me stress and I dread it. This year, I said NO :)”
W: “I am not going to cook almost every night. I am keeping two pizzas in the freezer at all times. No stress to cook those. I began to miss wine while making dinner, a little more stressed at this time of year. SO NOT going to let that happen. Of course i will add a few ingredients on top to make me feel better. Husband can even heat up the oven. Voila. no more stress over a meal at least not until Christmas!”
S: “I’m basing my pre-christmas friend catch-ups in coffee shops, not bars. Also not going to the german markets as we do as the there is too much beer and mulled wine to make my head spin!”
Indian Lake: “Oh man, I love this topic. If I have learned anything from you, it would be how to protect my sobriety. Growing up the child of a Marine, you are taught you put others before self, so this was a new concept for me when I first stopped drinking. But boy, has it saved me. For this holiday season, just like the last three, I will:
RSPV to (but not attend) the drunkfests that people put out as Christmas parties, all they are are reasons to drink, and turn very grim as the evening wears on. If you say “yes”, but don’t go, you don’t have to explain why you aren’t going until after the event has passed, and plead a belly ache as the reason you weren’t there. Resolves all kinds of angst and explanations.
As a treat for not going, I buy myself presents, wrap them, and celebrate my sobriety privately when the time of the event rolls around, tuck into bed, and smile knowing I have avoided another trap and kept myself strong and healthy.
This process has been working like a charm for four consecutive party seasons, celebrating 1435 days today, and not one bit of sadness on missing a party.”
~
this is ‘exit’ in french. exit the booze elevator. it’s an elevator that only goes down. time to step off.
link
original art link here.