basis, altho I know the elderly in European countries do. I feel better, actually, but there are times I get overly stressed and would like the relaxation a glass of wine would provide. I still have wine when we go out to dinner, which isn't often (too expensive) and of course I am not driving.

I'm 6 years in, and am a lot better for having quit. If you ever need help, check out the SMART website. They keep me on track and I usually do one zoom meeting a week. It's a nice alternative to AA.

http://smartrecovery.org

👏👏👏👏👏👏

you luck on you journey.

I just hit a year myself and am doing great. I sincerely wish you the best. It's a very hard thing to do if you're an alcoholic, so congrats, and keep up the fight.

That’s wonderful!

Big hugs to you!!

Alcoholism us such a wasteful disease . It sneaks up on you and completely destroys. Glad you figured it out and will never slide back.

The first week was easy when it should have been hard, because I was unconsious in the hospital after taking a hard fall and and landed on my head on the concrete. Twenty days in a rehab hospital and I voluntarily quit. I had no motivation to quit except damn near killing myself.

Funny thing was I was totally sober when I fell. Congrats on being sober one year.

It was really weird, once I looked at it as an "allergy" it allowed me to get past the initial guilt and shame of the addiction. Once I set that aside to deal with later, the quitting was easy. I just couldn't stomach it anymore.

That's whay I dont have a specific sober "DATE" because I still tried to drink a few times and ended up just, no, like, EW...

Went out to celebrate my dad's Bday in July had fish n chips and beer in his memory... got a non alcoholic beer...tasted gross but I drank it ...got home and I was nauseaus for a couple hours... not a drop since.

(Why? Because I feel the need to track the price of the Jim Beam I was buying. It's remained remarkably stable all through the pandemic, and always been available.) and I just laugh.

too much money gone, but at least Im still not spending now!

Cigarettes were about $30-35 a carton, and with W in office they didn't go up a dime for years.

n/t

I'm coming up on 2 years this Thanksgiving. The first week was tough, the second much easier and after a couple of months, fairly smooth sailing. At the same time, I found laying off weed was a piece of cake.

For me, it was understanding and facing head-on certain triggers: after mowing the yard, getting back to the rig after a long hike, watching the game with friends, etc. One beer would turn into two then usually several more. Our family is closer and healthier than before while I set a good example that difficult challenges CAN be overcome, even for an old fart like me. What also helped was focusing on tasks or developing hobbies, old and new, which keep me occupied.

Good on you and continued success with your new direction.

I'm still hoping the repurcussions on my teens will eventually be worked out. They're all grown up (21 & 22) and out of the house, but they left when I was pretty bad... And our relationships suffered the past couple years especially.

Had to cut them off for now until they can also get some therapy and we can come back together healthier. They were using me and I was too codependent to say no. I realized that if I was in actual rehab, they would make me go no contat until the relationships could shift. So here we are. Hopefully eventually they will reach out and we can see how much we've all healed...and begin healing together.

thanks for the kind words

Our kids are established and in their mid-30's. Still I've made a positive change in the way they see their old man.

I like your allergy solution - what works is good, right? With me, its just something I can no longer do - basically the same thing. I did have one barely pleasant shot last New Years Eve with no relapse — might have another again in January too. I'm just thrilled in knowing I made a HUGE difference in my and my family's lives. I hope you can also.

Here's to your new life and continued healing with your own family. I'll extend a positive wave of my own new-found happiness in your direction too. Can't hurt right?

According to recent studies, no amount of alcohol is safe to consume. It is a poison.

Good luck to your wife, good healing.

Keep on walking!

And keep moving!

Sounds like more good things ahead for you and your wife.

I remember having a year and it was A BIG BIG DEAL!

Congratulations on a great milestone.

When you were newly sober, did you think you could ever do this? (I knew I didn't).

One day at a time.

Congratulations. I hope the following is not too silly.

You're out of the woods
You're out of the dark
You're out of the night
Step into the sun
Step into the light

Keep straight ahead for the most glorious place
On the face of the earth or the sky
Hold onto your breath
Hold onto your heart
Hold onto your hope
March up to the gate and bid it open

You're out of the woods
You're out of the dark
You're out of the night
Step into the sun
Step into the light
March up to the gate and bid it open, open

That's how today felt...we started our little walk before full sunup and it broke through at the end and the fall colors were amazing!

Let there be CAKE! If nobody gets one for you, get one for yourself. This is a huge deal, that first anniversary that came one day at a time.