I do the whole Lent thing, so this year I tried doing something a little different. For awhile, I had been growing somewhat concerned about the amount of alcohol I'd been consuming. To clarify, I don't have an addiction -- that's a serious chemically-driven situation that requires attention and treatment -- but I had been drinking a lot simply because I felt like it and wanted to.
About a month ago, I had a few friends over one night just to hang out and play some board games. They were all driving home later that night. One of them had a cocktail with me earlier in the evening, but aside from that, none of them drank. So why did I have 4-5 beers over the remainder of the evening? That's not a problematic amount of alcohol to have in a single evening by any means, but this is what I meant by drinking a lot -- having more than just a couple when the situation really doesn't call for it. Doing that one or two times per week in addition to the social situations during which that would be more normal really adds up.
So for Lent, I decided to make a rule for myself. I am not allowed to drink more than the other people I'm spending time with. I was hoping that this would be a good way for me to still enjoy parties and nights out while keeping things in check during nights that are much more chill. When it's just the two of us at home, my wife usually doesn't drink more than two-ish glasses of wine in an evening, so this has helped keep my intake down.
Last weekend, I went to a concert on my Friday night out and didn't want beer because I wanted to avoid bathroom lines. After that, I hung out with my wife for the remainder of the weekend and she was sick. This, therefore, has led to a situation in which I've gone about 13 days without alcohol. 13 days sober didn't sound like a lot to me until I really tried to think about when the last time was that I went 13 straight days without having a drink.
If you don't really go cold-turkey on booze, it gets pretty ingrained into your life even if you don't ingest mass quantities. Going out after softball or basketball games, bar trivia, an occasional glass of wine with dinner...there's just so many routine situations that could break up a potential such string of 13 days. If I had to guess, I probably haven't done this since winter break during my junior year of college. That was almost a decade ago.
I've read so many articles about people who quit alcohol and immediately notice a bunch of positive changes in their lives. They sleep better. They have more energy. They feel more physically fit. You probably have to go longer than I have to feel a lot of these effects, but I have to say that thus far, I'm not seeing it. I play basketball twice per week, and if anything I've played worse lately and haven't been able to go as hard on the court. When my wife was sick last weekend, I was a wasteland of lethargy and didn't rise to the occasion the way I could have or should have. Maybe I was coffee deprived or something, but it felt like I had a hangover minus the headache and dehydration. As for sleep? I guess I've slept fine, but that wasn't really an issue before. I don't miss hangovers, but aside from that, I don't think I've evolved into a higher-functioning person. Again, one probably needs to go at it for longer than 13 days.
The upside? I'm sure that my body is thanking me for this reprieve, even if I can't directly feel it. Just knowing that I've been able to take it easy and not give in to temptation (quite as often!) has been a load off my mind. Part of me wants to see just how long I can push this out. I probably won't last the weekend, though, and with everyone's favorite Irish holiday coming up on the horizon, that probably won't cut my streak tremendously short. This may have been a temporary experience, but it was a good one for me even if I haven't found it to be all that "rewarding".
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