one very busy dining week this one has been. this week consisted of two dinners with friends i haven't seen in a long time and one lunch with a friend i haven't seen in what feels like a long time. what i've enjoyed most about dining out (aside from the good company and the catching up with good/old friends) is seeing how people act/react around me.
on tuesday night everyone followed suit on drinking water with me (after all, if i'm going to pay for a drink at a restaurant it better be alcoholic, so water it is for me). it's nice that (purposely or not) some of my friends are being supportive by having what i have. of course, it was nice on wednesday when my friend suggested we go to dinner where "the happy hour is good" because, for the first time, someone wasn't treating me like a recovering alcoholic and acting wary of taking me where th booze is plentiful.
truth be told, though, this is turning to be a lot easier than i thought it would be. i was hoping that by now i'd have almost given in forcing a strict self-lecture and some private internal turmoil followed by an "i can do it" speech i'd whisper to myself while staring at my reflection in a bathroom. i was hoping for some dramatic music playing in the background and montage of the social damage i've done running through my head, but alas, my pinch for drama is missing in this venture. but there is one thing i wasn't counting on that DID happen...
why is everyone GENUINELY treating this as if though i was a self-control-lacking drink-a-maniac before i decided to quit for a year? no, i'm not in a 12 step program, this was a voluntary decision for my own health/benefit (and just to see if i can do it). yes, maybe i drink a teeny weeny bit more than the average 26 year old woman, but i'm not raging, or even a functioning, alcoholic. (obviously wouldn't be able to quit cold turkey and all by myself) if i were one. thanks friends, for the words of encouragement, but it does make me feel kind of self-controll-less when i get "you can do it!" after posting an "i need a drink" status.
no, i'm not going to cave and have that drink if 100 you don't rally in my favor, yes, i did have an "i need a drink moment" but last time i checked so do a lot of very healthy, very active, very NON alcoholic people every day and they don't cave 100% of the time. maybe my nameless friend Ingrid (haha, get it, cuz i called her nameless first and then said her name) is right, maybe this blog is making me seem like i crave/year/feen for the juice a lot more than i did before this and maybe it't my fault. this "take it one day at a time" portrayal does make me seem like i might crack at any minute, but i promise, no need to keep me under surveillance. did you all forget that one time in 2009 when i successfully gave up alcohol for lent?
so thank you, friends who fearlessly take me lunching at brewco, or suggest a place with "great happy hour specials" for dinner because you're not letting my choice dictate your beverage; and thank you, friends who make it a habit to say to the waiter, "i'll also just have water" and ignore that i can't seem to remember the difference between a lemon and a lime when i ask for water with "lime, or lemon, mmm whatever the yellow one is" at dinner.
haha @ being unable to remember the difference between a lemon and a lime. i also forget sometimes. :)
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