5 years sober yesterday

[Dinsdale]

Well, if you had told me at anytime between the ages of 15 and 43 that I would go 5 years without a drink, I would have told you you were crazy.

Sure is easy to say "No" these days, tho I'd still love to get shit-faced at the drop of a hat.

The funniest thing is the people I've met in recent years, who have no idea what a drunk I was for so long!

The best thing about sobriety is you feel you've accomplished something just by NOT fucking up! Hey - along the same lines, I'm now working on 48+ years without shooting heroin or robbing a bank, and 23+ years of not cheating on my wife! Pretty impressive, no? :p

Apologies for a little self indulgence.

[ZipperJJ]

Self-indulge all you want. It's a big accomplishment and I for one am always extremely proud to hear such success stories.

You rock! Keep on keepin' on!!!!

[BMax]

Congratulations. 5 years is a big deal.

[Sleeps With Butterflies]

YaY for five years, here's to 50 more.

[Khadaji]

Congratulations! Wishing you a lifetime of continued success! :)

[NinetyWt]

Hey congrats!! It's always nice to take a look back when ya make a milestone like that.

[twickster]

Well done.

[Carol the Impaler]

Congrats, and never mind about going for a beer.

:-)

[Happy Poster]

Have a pint to celebrate :D

[Eureka]

Congratulations! I can't believe it's been five years--although I have a suspicion I didn't know you were a problem drinker when you stopped drinking, but found out through a more or less casual "oh and by the way, I quit drinking a couple years back" type update on your life.

Still, it's an accomplishment to be proud of.

And congratulations on not robbing a bank or shooting up heroin or cheating on your wife while you are at it. Some things our society treats so casually are bigger deals than we give them credit for.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Congrats!

How'd you do it?

[sleestak]

Congrats!

Isn't it cool?

Slee

[Moirai]

Well done, Dinsdale- 5 years is a major milestone. It can also be a "grow or go" type of milestone, so keep up the good work! :D

We aren't built to stay sober, so every day is pretty damned cool.

[Dinsdale]

Congrats!
How'd you do it?

Just decided to stop. Had tried to moderate for a couple of years, during which I clearly proved my ability to lie to myself. I can recall my days of 4 drinks max at open bars, where my 4 drinks would be 4 large tumblers full of gin...:p

The daily and weekly "limits" quickly became "goals." Found it considerably easier to quit altogether than to moderate.

My kids were of an age where I realized my drinking posed quite a poor example.

Sure is nice to know DUI is one thing I won't need to worry about.

I was able to quit smoking too - 25 or so years ago. I guess I have considerable "self control" in the respect that when I make my mind up to do something, it really is no big deal to do it. I mean - of course it is a big deal - but to drink or smoke, or not, is such a clear either/or thing. Once I made my mind up not to, it sorta took the choice out of the matter. I don't know, maybe I'm just pigheaded.

Then as you pile up days, weeks, months, and years, you really don't want to piss them away just for a momentary high.

Hell, I figure I drank enough over those 25-30 years for several normal lifetimes. So it isn't as tho I'm missing out on anything. I just got mine all out of the way up front! :D

[Clothahump]

Conga-rats, man!!!

[trapezoidal jellyfish]

Congratulations! that's quite an accomplishment.

[Zoe]

Dinsdale, five years is a major milestone! I salute you for it and celebrate with you. (I'm having Kroger brand purified drinking water. I try to drink four of the 16.9 oz bottles a day.)

Way to go!

[Dinsdale]

Thanks all.
Great community here (even if I CAN'T tell you all to FOAD!) :p

[anu-la1979]

Congratulations!

I quit smoking almost 2 years ago cold turkey, and I severely curtailed my drinking to make sure I wouldn't go back to smoking (as they are very linked for me). I have a beer now and again but I guess my days of drinking a couple of bottles of rotgut over the weekend are over.

[Carol the Impaler]

Thanks all.
Great community here (even if I CAN'T tell you all to FOAD!) :p

But we still feel it in our hearts, friend. :cool:

[hroark2112]

Congrats!!! 5 years is pretty freaking awesome!!

I hit 14 years last July, so I'm hoping to hit 15 soon. I remember when I thought 90 days was out of reach, and 1 year was impossible.

Tonight was my night to buy beer for one of my hockey teams, it always feels weird to be picking out beer that I never drank and driving him with the extras. Of course, I did pack my Diet Mt. Dew in the cooler (on top!) so they didn't have to drink alone.

Keep up the good work :)

[Dinsdale]

Tonight was my night to buy beer for one of my hockey teams, it always feels weird to be picking out beer that I never drank and driving him with the extras. Of course, I did pack my Diet Mt. Dew in the cooler (on top!) so they didn't have to drink alone.


Doesn't it piss you off when you buy yourself something NA, and all the people who CAN drink hit your stash? :p

[jujuju]

Congratulations! It's great to hear someone make it so long. I've got 50 days here, and am already able to do things I had totally given up on, most importantly with my kids. So many things in post #14 are already true for me too, I won't bother to repeat, but I am so glad to hear that you've made it 5 years and are happy! Keep it up!

[EmAnJ]

Excellent! One year for me yesterday and I can't wait to get to where you are now!

[glee]

Cheers! :o Errr...well done. :)

Seriously, this is not only really good for you personally, but it serves to help and inspire other people with the same addiction. :cool:

[ZipperJJ]

My kids were of an age where I realized my drinking posed quite a poor example.

Sure is nice to know DUI is one thing I won't need to worry about.

Wow, as a child of an alcoholic (with his own DUI), let me congratulate you again for your kids!!! I wish my pa would have as much sense as you.

[Theodore Striker]

Great for you dinsdale, not much else to say beyond that!

[hroark2112]

Doesn't it piss you off when you buy yourself something NA, and all the people who CAN drink hit your stash? :p

ABSOLFREAKINGLUTELY!!!

Luckily, I'm smarter than they are. I ended up with 2 coolers, and stashed 3 dews in one cooler and 3 in the other (under all the Coronas!) so when they snaked my dew, I had backup!