When I first retired from my long and illustrious drinking career, I realized that one of the things that was important to my staying happily dry was remembering why I used to love drinking. I needed to look back at my whole story from the beginning, not just focus on the end. I needed to honor that part of me and let it go. Because most of those of us who find that we need to stop drinking LOVED drinking at some point in our lives. When we look back and remember the good times I think that it helps to say
been there, done that, it was fun, move on
Of course, even when we loved drinking, there were also times when it got out of control and the whole experience SUCKED.
I wasn’t a daily drinker until my late twenties and only became a heavy daily drinker in my thirties. I’m 50 now and have known for the past five years that my drinking was out of control. It finally became dangerous.
But first…
When I was a young horn player in Chicago I was part of a quartet with three great friends who I loved as musicians and people. We wanted an original name for our group so we named ourselves after Gambrinus, the God of beer.
Then I named my first dog (who I got when I was 30) Gambie.
Obviously, I loved beer and was proud of that fact. I had been told that there was a history of alcoholism in my family and that someday it might catch up with me but that day seemed very far away and I never realized how long and painful the process of stopping drinking would be.
So now I am @Gambrinusdry and am happy that the adult in me is finally reaching back to the vibrant young woman, who didn’t realize that she was playing with fire, and I’m saying
been there, done that, let’s get back to living life to the fullest
I’ve retired from a long and illustrious drinking career –
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