Giving Up/Cutting Down Alcohol Thread Part 17

Season_of_Mist

Wanna_Bee_Free said:

Wow Season of Mist, that is very good - 5/96 days for 2021 - well done! Have you noticed changes from it at all?
4/13 for this evening please Cathybird. 

Well I think that’s right but memory as we know can be fallible. Checking back on the monthly totals on here is a big help (thanks cathybird). Pretty sure I only drank on 20 occasions in the whole of last year, so 5 days for a quarter of this year (so far) is about par for where I’m at.

I’ve been thinking about what happens after 12th April. Are posters on here planning to drink more often as there will - fingers X’d - be the opportunity to do so in pubs and restaurants again? For the last three years I have had a long complete break from alcohol over the summer months, but it may not be feasible to repeat it this year as I’ve got friends trying to make plans to catch up on all the lost events and special dates over the last 12 months. It just seems mean spirited to say no, or to say yes I’ll join you but I shan’t be drinking. Without wishing to sound too fatalistic about things, I’ve finally been made to realise that we don’t really have the certainty any more to say, “nah, I’ll give it a miss this time, thanks”. There just might not be a next time. I lost a very good friend in the autumn, we’d known each other for 30 years, when we last spoke it was about being able to catch up for a beer when this was all over, then bam! Suddenly won’t ever be able to meet up again. Still selfishly feel a lot of resentment about that loss.

So yeah, if a friend I haven’t seen for months asks to meet up for a drink over the coming weeks I may just say yes this year.

Would be interested to know what other posters on here plan to do about drinking and how to balance it all up with wanting to meet up with friends & family again?

maman

Like you, I'm going to say yes to all the missed occasions SoM. I'll meet my floor target of 10 (hopefully) each month but may not make the extra days I've had during lockdowns.

On top of that when we're eventually able to have holidays I'll be enjoying those too. My friend, that I should have been on holiday with last June, died in November so I'll be raising a glass to her. 

 It all starts with a planned drinking day next Wednesday. We're going out for lunch with friends. I'm already planning my outfit, starting with a thermal vest! 🤣

cathybird

April

7 days = 14 days = 21 days = 28 days = Target reached = Target beaten =
April targets
alt80 6/28 AnnieG 4/25 Arkers 5/10 Barny 7/23 cathybird 8/21 Coveredinbees 4/20 CuppaTea lantanna 2/14 Lupus Lou 15 maggiem 18 maman 4/10 marahouti 4/21 PriceySOS 22 RobM99 4/24 Season of Mist 5/28 sukeyboo 3/10 WBF 6/13 xxlalxx 6/28
Newcomers welcome!

Barny1979

7/23 AFDs today 

Arkers

Good morning everyone,
S-O-M Very interesting post, I'm with you and Mama, my birthday is in a few weeks and my friends are very excited to be using it as a reason to get together, I'm more than happy to facilitate!

5 Please Cathy 

Arkers x

Wanna_Bee_Free

Morning all, 6/13 please Cathybird. Thanks for your post S-O-M, really interesting thoughts. 
August and September will have a lot more going on for me than usual although one big event on my birthday weekend in November has just cancelled due to insurance issues so thats a lot of alcohol not happening in 2021 for me that weekend! I'm looking forward to seeing up to 6 friends soon but would be able to drink soft drinks or hot ones and not be the only one in most groups. I want to get to the peacock and have 150 AF days this year and with a low target I just need to plan ahead and continue AF Mon - Thu when I'm at home and avoid s*d it dsys. 

RobM99

Hi each, 4/28 today. Further to previous, when I have a drink  I only drink at home (soda and lime or alc' free lager when out), as going out always involves driving, so April 12 lifting of (some) restrictions won't make any difference to me.

cathybird

I've got a couple of get-togethers coming up, nothing too major but there will certainly be a drink or two involved with both! I'm being a bit cautious as I only just got the first vaccine, second one in June. After that nothing planned as yet but there will certainly be more occasions. Nice to give the restaurants/bars a bit of support too?? I won't go crazy with it but would like to get out and about a bit. 

marahouti

Good morning everyone.
Very good post S-o-M. I certainly intend to accept and extend social invitations and take holidays when I can and that will inevitably involve drinking more sometimes. That's fine and I intend to enjoy these opportunities 😀. However, it is still my intention to have more AF days than drinking days. I don't ever want to return to the days when I was drinking every day and struggled to remember when I last had a day off 😕.

I am 5/21 for yesterday please cathybird. Thank you. X

sukeyboo

Interesting post S-o-m - I am hoping to meet up with my old work colleagues in June/July as we haven’t been altogether since before the first lockdown - we were all furloughed and then made redundant ☹️ so there will definitely be some alcohol consumed then 😉. Apart from that I will be meeting up with friends & family but generally I am driving so I have a reason not to drink. 

Declaring early for today on 4/10 please cathybird