I enjoy setting challenges for myself. These goals are not very exciting, not even really that challenging. They are not going to cause any of you to run and change your bucket list in hopes of matching my accomplishments. I am not climbing Mt. Everest, hell, I don’t even like climbing the stairs in my house, forget a mountain! These challenges are more a mind over matter and are used to assess my intestinal fortitude, but sometimes they are a necessary evil to curb the demons.
Recently, (November 24th, 2018 to be exact) I made the decision after several weeks of round after round of confrontation with that pesky liver of mine to take a break from alcohol consumption. I was accustomed to partaking in dry January but sort of felt a “detox” was needed sooner. So, after a holiday celebration bender on November 23rd, I awoke the 24th, sat on the couch feeling like crap, and at that point made the declaration I need to take a break!
Step 1: Decide the length of the challenge? At that moment, I thought to myself ‘1 day seems long enough, after all it is the holiday season and I just bought 2 bottles of Bourbon…Damn it Bret, get your head together man!’ I decided I would not set a date but let the challenge evolve on its own.
Step 2: Telling my family. (Them folk don’t take lightly to quitters!) I recall talking to my wife telling her I think I am drinking too much I am going to quit for awhile, to which she responded “Forever?” to which I said “I don’t know how long, I haven’t gotten that far yet.” to which she followed “You don’t expect me to quit do you?” to which I said “no, no, I don’t expect you to quit.” She supported my decision, understood where I was coming from but thought I was nuts, after all “It is the holidays, what are you going to do with those 2 bottles of Bourbon?” I spoke to my brother next, who much like my wife was very supportive, but also thought I was nuts “Dude, its the holidays, wait, can I have your 2 bottles of Bourbon?”
Step 3: Talking to someone. I wanted to ascertain if I was heading into a bad direction with my consumption. I attended a Christian based open forum meeting close to where I work. I was dressed in my business attire, had a meeting with the pastor. As I spoke he sort of had the same look in his eyes as my family, kind of like I was a few Peeps short of an Easter Basket. But he told me to sit in the meeting to which I accepted. The 1st step to fixing a problem is admitting you have a problem.
Step 4: Be open: I took 1 of 5 seats set in a circle in the meeting room. I was very early and waited patiently. I took the time to check and respond to emails, write out my shopping list, change up my weightlifting program I saved in the notes of my phone. I heard voices in the hall outside the meeting room. I must admit, I got a little nervous. I am a good public speaker when I need to be, but this is about ME, this was about a concern I had which is forcing me to challenge myself! What if I am worse off then what I thought? What if I am worse off then everyone attending? “Calm yourself Bret, calm.”
Step 5: First impressions: I could not hide my emotion. I didn’t know what to say or even where to begin, my tongue swollen, I was speechless. The pastor walked in he took seat #2, followed by the participants, my soon to be support group, who filed in to fill the remaining 3 seats. Attendee #1: Was not from this century, he must’ve been 300 years old, 200 years ago, I swear he went to put a bottle of Ten High Whiskey in his flannel pocket only to realize he had no pockets and dropped the plastic bottle on the floor. Attendee #2: Was a rotund man, he had an angry face, not very intimidating, had it been clean I probably would’ve pinched his cheeks to try and get him to smile. He wore a sweat suit, the top half 2 sizes to small to cover his lower tummy, the bottoms were…well, struggling to stay on. Attendee #3: Was wearing a bathrobe! He wore jeans, a shirt and a bathrobe over it all! Speechless!
Step 6: Introductions and final meeting: Attendee #1 :“Hello my name is (Centurion) the first thing I do when I wake up is count out $6 to buy my whiskey.” My internal voice yells: ‘What the F**k?!?!’ Attendee #2: “My name is (Captain Sweatpants) the first thing I do is make breakfast, after I pour my first drink.” My internal voice screams: ‘What the ever loving F**k?!?!’ Attendee #3: “My name is (Bathrobe) the first thing I do is reach for a smoke and a shot.” My internal voice now in sheer panic: ‘What the F**k are we doing here?!?!’ A new voice breaks my trance “Bret, would you like to share what you do when you wake up?” the voice belongs to the pastor. “Um, yeah…”, I stutter, “Yoga…I ah, like to do Yoga.” My newly founded “support group” looks at me. Their expressions, speechless emotion covers their face, much like mine when I first gazed at them walking into the room. The first to break the awkward silence was Bathrobe. I was sitting to his left, when he turned to look at me in bewilderment and as God is my witness asked me “Are you nuts?!?!”
I went 61 days without a drink. Challenge complete.
#Adulting 