"Hey - It's Saturday Night - Let's Get drunk!"

Sunday Mornings?
Drunk Me. > Hungover, anxious and gulping down water and paracetamol, walking around the house with a throbbing headache, bursting bladder, dry mouth and feeling irritable and tired and wanting to roll over and go straight back to sleep for a few more hours.
Sober Me > Fresh, rested, tying my shoelaces and walking over the hills to the beach. Refreshed, clear, observant and positive about the day and the week ahead. Stretching in the morning sun and sweating but with that early winter chill cooling me. Just simple, being grateful and calm and being present - that is all there is to it - just be there, breathe and experience the moments.

As I approach a month of sobriety, I appreciate how much of a spoilt drunk I have been over the years - always bringing out alcohol and drinking as a prop for any event - whether it be a birthday, or even as trivial as the day of the week - like every Thursday was "Payday - let's get a few beers at the pub" and Friday was "of course, it's Friday, let's get drunk" and every Saturday was "Well, it is Saturday night, everyone else is drinking" and every Sunday was "Well, it is nice to have a bottle of wine on a Sunday" and on and on it goes. Then on the weekend "Hey, who wants a beer" at anytime of the day. There was always the perfect excuse and occasion to have a drink.

Now, after my Sunday morning walk and lying on the grass watching the girls play on the swings in the morning sun, it is so obvious that my drinking was holding everyone back as we all had to endure me staying up all night drinking and then being a fucking wreck the next day - either watching me mope around the house or letting me buy more alcohol so I could stay drunk for the morning and avoid the hangover.