I was invited by some co-workers to go and enjoy happy hour with them after work today. At 11 months out, I felt confident enough to do so. I would have NEVER have done this with only a little bit of time under my belt. I had my plan and talked to awesome @Andy_Charlie before and planned to check in afterward. I knew what drink I was going to order beforehand, Cherry Coke. Everyone there knew that I was sober and was very respectful. So I ordered a rib eye sandwich (OMG the best one I ever had) and watched as they popped open a bottle of red wine and shared it. I could smell it. I could see the beautiful color of it. But, I wasn’t tempted. So in my head, I played it out:
One- SHARE a bottle? Hheelll no. Two glasses of wine would do nothing more than make me want more.
Two- I would want to leave right away. Go by the liquor store on the way home. Get MORE wine. Drink it at home and pass out. Yay. Fun. Not.
Three- I wouldn’t eat that delicious sandwich and garlic parmesan fries. I didn’t eat when I drank. Sad.
Four- Say stupid things and not think clearly.
Five-Drinking and Driving? No thank you.
Wow! It really worked to play it out in my head. I came home after an AWESOME time and enjoyed more time with my children. I just have one thing to say. GOD I LOVE SOBRIETY 
Thanks for listening and happy Friday 
Than you Larissa!!! 
That means a lot to me Tommi Thank you. I feel like I’ve made the Master of Sobriety proud 
That’s how it’s done!! 
Congratulations, proud of you!!
That’s brilliant Rebecca I’m proud of you my friend 
I’m fucking proud of you Becky, good job 
GREAT JOB!!! 
You really played that tape forward, and it shows that after so much work and time, the tools we learn really work! Very inspiring.
Your tape was exactly like mine. The last time I drank I had 2 glasses of wine with a friend, which made me stop at the store on the way home, get another bottle of wine, and proceed to polish that one off at home. 
I love being free from alcohol!!!
Congrats lady!!!
Great share, so proud of you!
Good for you!! All positives in your list! Red wine = baaaaaaad hangover!!
@SoberWalker Thank You Claudia 
@Conor689908 Another Sobriety Master I have made proud 
Thank you!
@anon89207786 You rock my friend. Thank You! @stop.the.ride Isn’t it wonderful Jen??!! You REALLY don’t realize how much booze ties you down until your sober. It’s amazing how good Sobriety really is.
@Misokatsu YA! 
ya! I like that song! 
This is how we do it! I’m dancing with you Flo!
@littlemisschatterbox I love it darling! Thank you Laura 
@Mbwoman right? And then the misery continues to the next day. Another day of not being present with my family (I know what that means now). Another day of not being productive. Sheez the list keeps going, all negatives. I agree with you 
Sooooo proud of youuuu 
You’re awesomeeeeee
What a huge win! This is what I needed to read. With covid restrictions starting to lift, I know I’m going to run into this same exact situation with coworkers. Just before covid, I declined and gave some stupid excuse about having to get home to my family because I wasn’t ready to tell them I’m sober. Thank you for being a great example Becky.
You helped me girlfriend
You’ll be fine Lisa! It really wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be 
Cheeyas with a Cherry Coke! Lol
What a lot of people in recovery fail to acknowledge is that being around people who are drinking, whilst abstaining from alchohol (if successfully done) is the best form of exposure therapy there is. Nothing has been more beneficial for being at peace in sobriety than being in circumstances where I feel the urge to drink, and resist. Yes it is extremely uncomfortable in the beginning, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes and the more you develop as a person who does not need to drink anymore. You did it 
congrats!!
Thank you Jenna 
I agree. But not too early
Great strategy Becky
Well played.
And no wine hangover 
Great win for a lovely lady.
This is incredibly inspirational to read! As someone with only a few days under his belt, this will definitely now form part of my strategy but yes agreed that not in the early stages for sure! Thanks for sharing and congratulations on rocking sobriety so hard!!!