I was a binge drinker so while I didn’t only drink at the weekends, when I stopped drinking the weekends were the hardest part.
Today I woke up at 8, naturally after a decent night’s sleep. No gasping awake because of dehydration, no wondering how or when I got to bed, no feeling sick, no craving for gross greasy food, no hangover!
The weather was pretty miserable so this morning I chilled out on the sofa with some tea, watched TV, chatted to my boyfriend and had some breakfast.
Met a friend this afternoon, did some local sightseeing with cafe stops to avoid the worst of the rain. Good chats, lots of laughing, sharing some struggles. Went for dinner and then watched a live poetry set at a theatre.
Just on my way home, might do some yoga or might just go to bed.
This is basically my idea of a perfect day (apart from the rain), and if I was drinking it would have gone very differently. I probably wouldn’t be meeting this friend because she doesn’t drink. I would have argued about politics. I would have spent too much money. I would have missed half the show or made a fool of myself, if I’d have gone at all. I’d be up all night, make myself ill and probably bail on my Sunday plans.
What’s your perfect Saturday? And if you didn’t do that today, why not?!
Thank you for this post. It really is an amazing invention, this sober Saturday deal. Today, so far, has been leaning toward the “ideal” side of the scale. Slept in till 8, giving me a solid 6 hours of sleep, got up and made a killer breakfast with my husband helping me in the (MY) kitchen. Without me micromanaging. This is a bigger deal than it probably sounds. Left a clean kitchen behind and did odds and ends around the house, then spend sometime on the computer on recovery work and journaling while a neat show about Southern American cooking I hadn’t seen on PBS was on in the background. Did a 45 min workout (on a Saturday?!?) and it felt amazing. Joined a zoom call with my in-laws to celebrate our niece’s 6th birthday and watched her open presents. Hubby was having a bad day struggling with failed experiments (he’s an engineering/tinkerer type) and I was the one to step in and help be supportive, set up the zoom, change the plans for the rest of the day so he could take a break, etc. Did a 1.5 hour zoom session with my friend and breath work practitioner and talked to her about sobriety for the first time. She is in recovery and told me about her experience a bit more in depth than I had heard before. We are going to talk more another time. Came out after breathwork blissed out with some new revelations. About to dive into some pizza and relax for the evening. Wanted to do a bonfire tonight but the jury is out, it’s drizzling and nasty. But, it’s okay either way! It’s not the end of the world if plans change! This has been an unremarkable but beautiful Saturday.
Well my normal Saturday is work, get home. Go out get something to eat and sit with the family and watch a movie or two.
Today however could be classed as near to a great Saturday as I might get without winning the lottery.
I didn’t work. Got up lazily about mid morning, went into town, visited a few outdoor shops went shopping.
Came home, dozed, made something to eat then watched Lord of the Rings movie 2.
Now in bed. Deciding whether I should work tomorrow instead!?
Today being Saturday, I am clean and sober. I usually work Saturdays so I wake up early and catch the train. Some Saturdays in the past I would go to work MAYBE with an hour of unsettled sleep bcuz of using. I love waking up early after a good night’s rest and going to work. Taking my time walking and enjoying nature. And then feeling productive at work (and not falling close to sleep). If I’m not working, I like the ability of being productive when I’m clean and sober. Not feeling ill or hungry. No arguing the next day with my significant other. I domt know why I struggle so much when there’s so many positives about being clean
Just me in my onesie with an extra blanket, my cat Buts, coffee and some candles. The rest of my family asleep. A bit of surfing on the net, reading the news (Trump has Covid) and TS.
Booked tickets for the cinema, just decided it’s too wet to walk today
In my drinking days I would still lay in my bed and my day will be couvered by a blanked of headache and fog…
Did you get any good gear? I ordered a compass of FB marketplace yesterday, not really sure how to use one but I will learn! My plan is to look into doing a lowland (maybe hill and moorland) qualification although I need to look into it more to work out what I need to do.
That’s the nature of addiction. Just because we know something is good for us, that isn’t always enough to stop the subconscious/ deep rooted desire to fall back on the habits we’ve built. Our brains are wired to chase short term satisfaction over long term success. Something primal in us that isn’t really suited to the world we now live in!
Sounds like you had a good Saturday this weekend though, which is great! The more of them you can have, the better chance you have of rewiring your brain to reach for sobriety as the way of achieving short term satisfaction. I feel like I have managed this with alcohol, but it is still something I need to continue to work on. I’m not there with nicotine yet. We are all works in progress
I was looking for a descent daysack. Nothing jumped out at me.
I did find a waterproof case that is big enough for 1:50 maps. It was on buy one get one free in mountain warehouse so I got a spork as well.
That’ll be a great thing to do. There are a lot of courses out there.
If you need any help give me a shout.
We need to try and organise the postponed TS hike again.
This is a great idea for a thread! I missed it yesterday apparently
My old Saturdays and Sundays would usually consist of waking up hungover and starting to drink as soon as possible. Then continuing throughout the day at various restaurants/breweries and then finally back at home again. Just to repeat the next day.
Now I start each day with walking the dogs for about a mile. Then jump on here for a bit and catch up with everyone. After that it’s a workout then normally lunch or brunch with the wife.
Yesterday afternoon after a beautiful lunch at a restaurant on the water, I came home and cut the grass, brushed one of the dogs (the one who needed it) for a while and talked to my mom on the phone.
Those seem like such small things but for me they are huge because the old me wouldn’t have done any of that. I would have come home drunk to take a nap then kept on drinking as soon as I woke up, ignoring the world. I’ve noticed since I started my sobriety journey that not only is my life more in order but my home is much more in order, inside and out.
The rest of the evening was unremarkable like some of you guys have said, but nice and relaxing.
I would say on average I am probably saving around $200 each weekend alone now that I’m not drinking…At least. Anyways, I hope everyone has a great sober Sunday!
My sober Saturday included making pancakes and bacon for breakfast, lounging on the couch while reading the news, sitting on the deck for about an hour and enjoying the sunshine, getting caught up on a few work things, doing the weekly grocery trip and having a quiet evening watching Netflix. It was much more productive and it felt good to get those things off my list! Today I look forward to starting a new book, enjoying time on the deck and taking the dog for a walk through the park.
My perfect Saturday is one that I don’t have to work lol but my favourite part about sober weekends is spending time with my son and my partner. Even if we’re just sitting around hanging out, were all together.
I wasted to many Saturdays in bed hungover from the night before, blowing off work to " feel better" only to buy a bag and drink again and wake up Sunday twice as ill.
Today, I’m glad that I’m not confined by the chains of addictions so any day that I’m sober is perfect.
Happy Sunday! I do have to work this morning, but thankfully I can do so from home. So I’m enjoying some strong black coffee and am going to make a breakfast burrito as soon as this first cup kicks in. Im currently living in mexico and can get the BEST tortillas, salsa, etc. I didnt sleep well last night so it might be a good day to watch my Grays Anatomy, paint my nails and do a face mask and have a nap. on day 5 which is where Ive always slipped but not today!
Sundays are not created equal. Last Sunday I was in swim trunks riding across the lake on our waverunner, today it’s 48F, the waverunner is being winterized, the trees are turning colors. Weekends are not the same and the seasons make sure of that. Our sobriety demands we change with the seasons as memories of our drinking past will resurrect good times drinking that can ambush us into “just one”. Happy sober Sunday!
on day 5 which is where Ive always slipped but not today!