Becoming Sober (Page 19)

So....21 years ago I arrive at our annual family reunion. My cousin comes up and offers me a beer and I just say "no thanks". His reply is a rather stunned, "what, did you stop drinking?!" and I say, "who told you?"  "no one" he says "it's just you've been here 20 minutes and I've never in the last 18 years seen you without a beer in your hand" 

I always grin when I think of that exchange. He is now sober as well. 

ebshot - 2012-07-05 9:09 AM

Flapjack - 2012-07-05 9:01 AM

ebshot - 2012-07-05 7:18 AM I made it through the 4th w/o a drink!  Feeling good.

I was thinking about you, hoping to see a post like this.

Keep at it.  It continues to get better.

Better better better!

Thanks!  I'm really feeling good.  It's encouraging.

I was hoping to see this as well!  Congrats for keeping at it!  

I made it as well!

I like to think that it's getting easier,but some days it's just not.

One day at a time...

cgregg - 2012-07-05 5:04 PM I've been a little absent from posting due to an injury, but I'm very happy to say that this past Saturday I celebrated 6 years of sobriety. Congrats to all who celebrated a sober holiday. For those that are struggling, ask yourself WHY? What aspect of being sober is difficult for you at this time?... and answer yourself as honestly as you possibly can. If you have a sponsor, or just someone you can talk to, bounce what you find off of them. Figuring out the things that could be obstacles is the best way to guarantee that they aren't.

Congrats on your 6 years!  I hope you are feeling alright and healing up quick, that was one heck of a bike crash!  

Tyler, glad to hear you are also still on track and doing it one day at a time!  That's all you can ever ask for!  

cgregg - 2012-07-05 5:04 PM I've been a little absent from posting due to an injury, but I'm very happy to say that this past Saturday I celebrated 6 years of sobriety. Congrats to all who celebrated a sober holiday. For those that are struggling, ask yourself WHY? What aspect of being sober is difficult for you at this time?... and answer yourself as honestly as you possibly can. If you have a sponsor, or just someone you can talk to, bounce what you find off of them. Figuring out the things that could be obstacles is the best way to guarantee that they aren't.

Congrats!  Six years!  And in Cleveland!  Man, thats like 10 years anywhere else,,,,,,

ChicagoMan65 - 2012-07-07 12:52 AM

cgregg - 2012-07-05 5:04 PM I've been a little absent from posting due to an injury, but I'm very happy to say that this past Saturday I celebrated 6 years of sobriety. Congrats to all who celebrated a sober holiday. For those that are struggling, ask yourself WHY? What aspect of being sober is difficult for you at this time?... and answer yourself as honestly as you possibly can. If you have a sponsor, or just someone you can talk to, bounce what you find off of them. Figuring out the things that could be obstacles is the best way to guarantee that they aren't.

Congrats!  Six years!  And in Cleveland!  Man, thats like 10 years anywhere else,,,,,,

Ohio sobriety is like dog years.

cgregg - 2012-07-07 10:33 PM

TriAya - 2012-07-06 1:27 PM

ChicagoMan65 - 2012-07-07 12:52 AM

cgregg - 2012-07-05 5:04 PM I've been a little absent from posting due to an injury, but I'm very happy to say that this past Saturday I celebrated 6 years of sobriety. Congrats to all who celebrated a sober holiday. For those that are struggling, ask yourself WHY? What aspect of being sober is difficult for you at this time?... and answer yourself as honestly as you possibly can. If you have a sponsor, or just someone you can talk to, bounce what you find off of them. Figuring out the things that could be obstacles is the best way to guarantee that they aren't.

Congrats!  Six years!  And in Cleveland!  Man, thats like 10 years anywhere else,,,,,,

Ohio sobriety is like dog years.

lol! We still measure it 24 hours at a time It is pretty cool to be so close to so much of AA's roots, though. I haven't yet visited Dr. Bob's house, but taking a walk through the gatehouse at Stan Hywet Hall and seeing THE room and THE very table and chairs where it all began, and doing that on Founder's Day on AA's 75th anniversary - that was pretty special to me. If you've never made it to Founder's Day, add it to your bucket list. The experience of sitting in an outdoor stadium with more than 10,000 other people from all over the world to have an AA meeting and listen to one individual share their story is singularly Awesome, in every meaning of that word. One of the most powerful things I've ever sat through. @mdg - Congrats to your cousin! Keep her going - bet her that she won't make it to 16 weeks, then watch her prove you "wrong" out of spite

I love you. Will you marry me?

Oh wait, wrong thread.

And I second the idea of challenging the cousin ...

ebshot - 2012-07-07 3:33 PM I was at the grocery today and saw one of my go to beers and thought...nope, don't do it.  We kept walking.  But it sure looked good. 

Booze still calls, but it's faint and in the distance over the horizon.  I always tell myelf, I can have one .....later.

Then I get busy with something else and the feeling passes.  That "passing of the feeling" always happens.  When you are early in the sobriety thing, it is a lot of work to let the feeling pass and know that you will be okay... and sober.  It gets easier.  It's like building a special muscle or brain pathway or something.  The more you do it the better you get at it and then you can just keep doing it, even when the stuff hits the fan.  Just keep doing it.  After a while everything becomes a reason to be sober and not a reason to get drunk.

I suppose that's why I like the endurance training so much.  It takes repetitious work to get it right, lots of it, but the rewards are indescribable.

I am not making any sense I am sure.  Anyway you should be proud of yourself.  Give yourself a pat on the back and know that you did it right today.

ebshot - 2012-07-07 3:33 PM I was at the grocery today and saw one of my go to beers and thought...nope, don't do it.  We kept walking.  But it sure looked good. 

That always makes me pause. Every year when the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is released....

mdg2003 - 2012-07-07 6:56 PM

ebshot - 2012-07-07 3:33 PM I was at the grocery today and saw one of my go to beers and thought...nope, don't do it.  We kept walking.  But it sure looked good. 

That always makes me pause. Every year when the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is released....

What makes me pause are the prices.  Especially cigarettes.  I look at what a 12 pack costs or what smokes cost and I just chuckle, grateful that i dont have to spend that kind of money any more!

cgregg - 2012-07-09 1:44 PM I was just talking with a friend the other day about this.... I have no idea how the hell I ever afforded smoking or drinking the way I did, much less both. It's nice to look at those things now and smile and see a vacation, or a new carbon frame, instead

idk how I did it either.

A pack of smokes here now is $8/pack

8 FREAKING DOLLARS!

Wow. I have been wanting to read this thread for a while now and thanks to not being able to sleep tonight I just got through all 24 FREAKING PAGES! I stopped drinking once as a sr in high school when I really began to take my relationship with God seriously but then turned 21 and decided that since I knew other Christians that drank socially, I could too. I learned fairly quickly that I am not one of those people. I learned that I don't like to sit down and drink a beer, I would rather drink 12. First I flipped a Tahoe a few times but that didn't teach me. A few months later I got a DWI less than a mile from where I had that accident. I remember sitting in jail that night wondering what in the world went wrong. Knowing that if my wife didn't kill me for this one the drinking would, I called it quits.

Now, almost 9 years later I am still sober and happy as ever. I attended a few court ordered substance abuse meetings but at the time I was pretty resentful that I had to go and just "did my time" and left. I have only ever been to one AA meeting and it was actually for a class project several years ago while in nursing school. I enjoyed the meeting but I think the meetings were just not what I needed at the time. My relationship with Jesus and with my wife were. 

It is amazing reading the stories of everyone here and how we all share such a similar bond. Tyler, I applaud you and your start on your journey as well as everyone else's. I must say though that I have been a little mad at you over the last few hours as reading this thread in its entirety has been a bit like reading gut wrenching story of triumph and stumbling. Still, I have a lot of love and respect for you and will definitely have you in my prayers! 

We all have our battles and we fight them in our own way. The important thing is that we are victorious each day. Good luck to each of you and I look forward to the next 24 pages of this great story!

Sorry.

Still sober this time around though!

cgregg - 2012-07-07 10:33 AM  lol! We still measure it 24 hours at a time It is pretty cool to be so close to so much of AA's roots, though. I haven't yet visited Dr. Bob's house, but taking a walk through the gatehouse at Stan Hywet Hall and seeing THE room and THE very table and chairs where it all began, and doing that on Founder's Day on AA's 75th anniversary - that was pretty special to me. If you've never made it to Founder's Day, add it to your bucket list. The experience of sitting in an outdoor stadium with more than 10,000 other people from all over the world to have an AA meeting and listen to one individual share their story is singularly Awesome, in every meaning of that word. One of the most powerful things I've ever sat through. @mdg - Congrats to your cousin! Keep her going - bet her that she won't make it to 16 weeks, then watch her prove you "wrong" out of spite

18 years for me this past Saturday.

AA/BT fun fact: Ron lives directly across the street from Dr. Bob's grave. You can see it from his front door.

marmadaddy - 2012-07-12 11:33 PM

cgregg - 2012-07-07 10:33 AM  lol! We still measure it 24 hours at a time It is pretty cool to be so close to so much of AA's roots, though. I haven't yet visited Dr. Bob's house, but taking a walk through the gatehouse at Stan Hywet Hall and seeing THE room and THE very table and chairs where it all began, and doing that on Founder's Day on AA's 75th anniversary - that was pretty special to me. If you've never made it to Founder's Day, add it to your bucket list. The experience of sitting in an outdoor stadium with more than 10,000 other people from all over the world to have an AA meeting and listen to one individual share their story is singularly Awesome, in every meaning of that word. One of the most powerful things I've ever sat through. @mdg - Congrats to your cousin! Keep her going - bet her that she won't make it to 16 weeks, then watch her prove you "wrong" out of spite

18 years for me this past Saturday.

AA/BT fun fact: Ron lives directly across the street from Dr. Bob's grave. You can see it from his front door.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY OUR BELOVED MARMADADDY!!!!

marmadaddy - 2012-07-12 10:33 AM

cgregg - 2012-07-07 10:33 AM  lol! We still measure it 24 hours at a time It is pretty cool to be so close to so much of AA's roots, though. I haven't yet visited Dr. Bob's house, but taking a walk through the gatehouse at Stan Hywet Hall and seeing THE room and THE very table and chairs where it all began, and doing that on Founder's Day on AA's 75th anniversary - that was pretty special to me. If you've never made it to Founder's Day, add it to your bucket list. The experience of sitting in an outdoor stadium with more than 10,000 other people from all over the world to have an AA meeting and listen to one individual share their story is singularly Awesome, in every meaning of that word. One of the most powerful things I've ever sat through. @mdg - Congrats to your cousin! Keep her going - bet her that she won't make it to 16 weeks, then watch her prove you "wrong" out of spite

18 years for me this past Saturday.

AA/BT fun fact: Ron lives directly across the street from Dr. Bob's grave. You can see it from his front door.

CONGRATULATIONS!!  It reminds me of something I heard on this program.  "You have 18 years of sobriety, and the longest you've ever had to go without a drink is 24 hours.."

Cool fun fact too...

CONGRATS. Awesome... is it time for cake!!!

That's a pretty cool fun fact.