Day 52

Day 50 kinda snuck up on me.  Now here I am celebrating day 52 of this journey.  A few things:

"Most things I worry about never happen anyway."  I'm not sure where that saying came from, but I got it from a Tom Petty song many years ago.  It seems like making the decision to sober up was the biggest hurdle....a hurdle that I struggled with for many years. But once I finally made that decision, everything just kinda fell into place.  The journey has been fun....at least so far. 

I think I worried too much about how I was going to do it, or if I'd be able to do it.  Turns out what I really needed to do was.....just go ahead and do it.

One of the things I've learned about myself over the years is that I form habits incredibly easily....good and bad.  If I find something I like, I tend to stick with it religiously.  At my old job I got into the habit of going to Subway for lunch.  It only took a few times before I was hooked.  I used to go almost every day.  Same sandwich, same time.  I supported that franchise for a good two years.  It was part of my daily routine.


I guess that being an easily-forming-habit-guy can be a good thing so long as the habit is a healthy one.  Exercising is a good example.  I started exercising at an early age, and I've consistently done so ever since. 

Unfortunately, I'm pretty accomplished at forming bad habits too;  diet soda, junk food (I can usually resist junk food, but it's a slippery slope)......alcohol!!!!!!!

Booze, like many other things in my life, became a habit.  It was a slow process, mostly because I fought it for a long time, but it eventually became part of my daily routine.  And once it became part of my day, it was really difficult to control.

When I decided to stop, the first week or too were tough....because just like going to Subway at 11:05 every morning used to be a part of my day, making that first drink at 8:30 every night was just what I did.  It felt right.  If I didn't do it, I was all out of sorts.

But once I settled into sobriety, the sober habit quickly formed. Instead of making that first drink at 8:30 every night, I either sober blogged myself or I read sober blogs.  It didn't take long for that new habit to form and become the new norm.  I think that's why this has thus far seemed easier than I thought it would. That was a horrible sentence!....this that thus.

Anyway,  It's been a fun journey.  I know that Gene will be back at some point and that's ok.  One day at a time has worked so far, so I'm sticking with it.

Now it's time to go to bed.......sober.