With sobriety becoming a normal part of everyday life and the monotony of Covid-existence, it had been a loooOoong time since I had a sober first. This one I expected would prove to be very challenging, as I had never been sober on a vacation to the beach before (beach and evening drinks went together like ramalamalamakadingadadingadongg—i.e., were inseparable—in my mind) and had never spent more than a few hours in a row with my “in-laws” (my boyfriend’s parents), who are lovely people but whom I don’t know that well (also, as I am leaving the country forever in a couple of months, I anticipated things might be a bit strange, but on the contrary, everyone was SO sweet).
Long story short, it was great. How refreshing to spend time in a family where people don’t open the first bottle of wine before lunch! How new to observe that on most evenings, everyone was drinking water, and perfectly content! Sure, the dad had a couple of beers before dinner, but the great majority of us (there were 6 people in total) weren’t drinking. One evening, they opened a bottle of champagne for the uncle’s birthday, and only 3 people out of 6 partook. My lovely boyfriend didn’t take a single sip of alcohol during our whole stay. I felt supported, but I also don’t even think he did it for me.
In my own family this is inconceivable.
So this was a first for me, not merely in the sense of “wow I survived a new experience without drinking” but also of, “wow, turns out people can enjoy these things without needing a drink, that’s actually an option”. It was real-life reframing, happening right there in front of my eyes.
I’ve been back (and back to work) for a few days already now, but this little escapade really helped refresh every cell in my body, mind and soul. Every single part of me savored the fresh air, the breeze, the waves and the ocean sunsets. It made me feel grateful to be sober and realize that life doesn’t need anything added to it. In those precious moments, everything is already perfect.
Big hugs,
Anne
Firsts are the best!!! Congrats to you!!!! 🥰🤗🥰🤗🥰🤗
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hehehe yes! Glad they’re still happening 🙂 thanks Monica 🙂 xx
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Well done, Anne!
xo
Wendy
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thanks Wendy ❤
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How lovely. Happy for you, Anne. ❤️
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Thank you Leafy ! Enjoy the woods xxx
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Yes! Isn’t in refreshing to be around people who don’t think every occasion should revolve around alcohol (my family is the same). I’m glad you had a wonderful time! You deserve it! 💕
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Absolutely! It opens up a whole new world lol Thank you Collette ❤ xxx
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I think one of the most eye opening things for me was to see people eating at restaurants and not drinking. I had convinced myself everyone was drinking, all the time. Realizing that made this so much simpler.
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I knoooooooow! Isn’t it crazy? So glad to have made it to the other side 🙂 xxxx Anne
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It sounds like the perfect escape for a while and wonderful that booze didn’t even feature. Beautiful photos … that sand looks awesome 😎 xxx
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The pics are terrible but I had such a good time that I didn’t bother to take any, very unlike me ! 🙂 xxxx Anne
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Even better. I love the pics. So glad you had such a lovely time 😊
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There is no better feeling for me than when I have a major sober first! And major is surviving the beach without the wine! Wonderful!! ps what is ramalamalamakadingadadingadongg?🤓
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hahaha it’s from a song in the 1978 movie “Grease” with John Travolta 🙂 I have no idea why but it was stuck in my head when I wrote that post, and I haven’t watched it since I was about 10, so, 13 years ago!
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😆 Good one!! I need to watch it again just to hear that!!
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