sober support for everyone
Before getting sober, my drinking brain would have used this current situation as an excuse to drink more. Losing my drinking restrictions like school pick-ups, work, visiting relatives, etc… means I would have drunk in excess of my already excessive normal.
Continue reading “Lockdown: Drinking v Sobriety – Day 1480”
Over this Lockdown Easter Weekend it has felt hard not seeing my parents and my sisters and their families.
Normally, I would have planned a visit to my sisters over the Easter Holidays to catch up and swap Easter Eggs with the children. My parents would have been invited to our house on Easter Sunday for lunch. There would have been drives out for family walks or even a weekend away somewhere.
However, during lockdown none of this can happen. I don’t want to dwell on what I cannot do though. That is too easy and does not actually help me. When I find things which are out of my control, I try to focus on what is in my control.
Continue reading “Easter Weekend in Lockdown – Day 1473”
It’s coming to the end of my 4th year Sober.
Today has been just an ordinary day; nothing special.
This means I enjoyed helping the kids with their school work (including finding out who invented Tarmac!).
Eating lunch with Mr Mac and having time to catch up.
In my first year of Sobriety I went to AA for a couple of months. This is where I came across the Serenity Prayer for the first time.
These simple words resonated with me immediately upon hearing them. Their meaning hit me somewhere deep inside and I have never forgotten them since.
When I find myself facing a difficult situation and getting overwhelmed, I quietly say these words to myself.
Continue reading “The Serenity Prayer – Day 1459”Due to the school closures here in the UK, I am on Day 3 of home schooling the kids. So far, it’s going okay. (though it is only Day 3). Modern technology means their schools have set homework online and they have a great choice of subjects to choose from. I’m so pleased I didn’t have to come up with their school work myself, Phew!
The tricky part for me is resisting the urge to compete with all those parents out there who are jumping on social media to share idyllic pictures of their children studying and sharing copies of their unrealistic home-school timetables.
The BBC News headline last week made me smile.
The report explains that sales of no or low alcohol beer are up 30% since 2016, as 18-24 year olds increasingly shun alcohol.
I gave up alcohol in April 2016 and back then, there was very little low or non alcohol drinks out there. It is amazing that in the past 4 years, this industry has recognised that there is a growing demand for low or no alcohol.
As you may know, last February 2019, I left my Government office job to work in a smaller school office, with less responsibility.
I felt at the time it was the right thing to do. I had been unhappy in my job for a while. Even after getting sober, the job did not improve. Though I will admit, it was more manageable, being sober.
This morning, I took a walk with my husband. Not a very exciting walk. We dropped the car off at the local garage and walked back home. However, we did go via Costa for a coffee which was good!
I enjoy walking and getting outside in the fresh air. It makes me feel good physically and mentally. I realise that it doesn’t even matter where I walk. What matters is just moving my body and being outdoors.
This week is Children’s Mental Health Week 03 – 09 February 2020.
This year’s theme in the UK is ‘Find your Brave’. Life is all about taking small brave steps every day. Bravery could be about sharing worries and asking for help when you need it, trying something new or making the right choices.