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You are here: Home / Soapbox / Confessions / Sobertober Conclusion

Sobertober Conclusion

November 2, 2014 By Caroline Peterson

It’s November! Sobertober is over. I made it.

The hubster has a 30-hour shift on call today (and part of tomorrow), so to celebrate my achievement, I’m finishing off a box of wine while watching Lifetime alone.

Jokes.

By the time October ended, I forgot I hadn’t had a glass of wine in a month.

More jokes!

sobertober
That’s me at 12:05 am on November 1st

I had half a glass of wine and shortly after wanted to go home and sleep. I’M A WILD AND CRAZY-FUN TIME, KIDS.

I won’t lie, it was delicious. But, I also won’t lie that this month of not having alcohol has certainly made me revaluate my habits–the good and the bad.

The good

  • My skin has improved a bit. I’m usually the pinkish-red gal in photos. Blame my Scotch-Irish heritage, but it seems regardless of the foundation I use, I’m red. Full disclosure: I have a bit of Rosacea on one of my cheeks (yes, only one…) Not drinking has has taken that down enough for me to notice. Score!
  • I’ve banked 24 miles running the last 3 weeks of October alone. Not feeling like crap in the mornings helped me get my bum out of bed.

A pretty 5 miles this morning. #halfmarathontraining

A photo posted by Caroline (@carolinemadethis) on Oct 10, 2014 at 7:01am PDT

  • In general, I feel healthier. This could be a mental thing, but hey, who ever said I wasn’t mental? (hey-o!)
  • That bill at the restaurant? Cut in half. Nooooo, we don’t order tons to drink…usually. Have you SEEN prices in South Florida? That martini I ordered is the same price as my tacos. Mmmmm…tacos.
  • That glass of wine or nice bit of whiskey after a long, stressed-filled day at work was freakin’ “too easy.” And I’m glad this month made me realize that. Initially, I distracted myself by diving into writing or just whipping up dinner. But quicker than I realized, I didn’t need that distraction. It just became a habit to not use my go-to liquid relaxation.
  • Those crazy ideas and inventions that I come up with and usually blame on alcohol? I still have them sober. Luck you guys!
  • Call me a control freak, but I enjoyed being in control of my schedule and not letting alcohol dictate it.

The bad

  • My bad ass alma mater, Michigan State, won a pretty big rivalry game and I wanted to make all Spartans proud by having horribly cheap beer to celebrate. It just felt so right. But, I didn’t.
sobertober
He was a good sport about the loss. GO GREEN!
  • The peer pressure is bad, you guys. I’m in my 30’s and you people have a knack for making it be “weird” to not drink. I survived though. Drinking water during happy hour also meant explaining I’m not pregnant without immediately wanting to flip the bird.
Sobertober
You can cherish portraits of Bill Murray at the bar while sober.
  • I broke a nasty habit of drinking diet soda a few years ago. It’s back as a replacement. Not as bad as it used to be, but the very last bottle of Diet Coke is in my fridge right now. Back to carbonated water for me.
  • I didn’t lose a pound. Shocking, right? Things fit better, but I wasn’t counting on any major weight loss anyway. It’s par for the course for me.

My takeaway

I think it’s a good reality check to rebalance some thing every once and a while. After a tapas and wine filled vacation to Spain and Portugal, I listened to my body and tried something I thought may help. I’m glad I did because it definitely brought some perspective. I’m going to integrate not reaching for a glass of wine just because I want one when I’m tired and stressed. I can go out with friends and not drink and still have a good time and laugh…especially at explaining that I’m not pregnant for the umpteenth time.

Being in control is a powerful thing. I like that.

I also like tapas and wine.

tapas

A fine balance is key.

What do you guys think? Is it something you would try for a month? How did my sober gals do this month?

Previous posts:

Sobertober

Sobertober Update

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Filed Under: Confessions, Soapbox

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