Off the sauce

I am not catholic, or any flavor thereof, really. But Lent came at an appropriate time this year to try an experiment I've been wanting to do for a while.

Since Ash Wednesday, I've not had a drop of wine, beer, whiskey, or any other spirit distilled, fermented, brewed or aged. No booze.

For those of you who don't drink much or at all, this may seem like no great feat of sacrifice, but I have been known to clutch my nearly empty (but not quite) wine glass away from looming waiters eager to clear a table, shouting "I need this to live!!" Some of you can relate, I'm sure.

It's been about 2 weeks now, and I'm getting used to it. I won't lie and say I like it. I don't. It's been pretty much miserable. Standing at parties surrounded by glasses of libation is like a roomful of bare necks to a vampire who has given up blood for no other reason than he wants to see what it feels like. I'm not saying I was a raging drunk, but I certainly had a nightly wine habit of no less than one, no more than three glasses. It was nice. I liked it. So why take away my comfy crutch?

Because a few positive things have happened. I sleep better (less trips to the loo in the middle of the night). I feel slimmer. I'm spending less money. Waking up is easier in the morning. I have a bit more energy.

And, whether or not this is positive or negative depends on your attitude: I have been forced to actually face my stress and fears. At the end of a rough day, there's no glass of dry, red therapy to relax in. There is, instead, dealing. Coping. Talking. Sometimes not sleeping at night.

But just like any muscle, your coping muscle only gets stronger with practice, and what seems like a lot of work at first gets easier over time.

I'm looking forward to breaking this fast.

But I'm looking forward to taking some of this learning with me back into my drinking life. Maybe my nightly habit will become a weekendly habit. I certainly won't welcome back the extra inch in my belly, the restless sleep and the sluggish mornings. So maybe I won't welcome back quite the quantity that I bade farewell to.