How do I tell my friends?

If this blog is placed on the IkPas website, I have had virtually no alcohol for 95 days. Next Sunday I will be on the 100 days. One more week and I'll make it to Easter.

Lent lasts longer than 40 days, I have noticed. From Ash Wednesday to Easter Monday is 46 days. That is still a setback, if you bet on 40 days. It is, I read on the EO website, because Sundays are not counted. On Sundays I left the cork in the bottle.

I have written before that I do not know what I will do on and after Easter Sunday. And whether I will tell friends and family that I no longer drink alcohol. So far I haven't honked it around. In the past 3 months, I've had few alcohol-serving events, so I've had to turn down few drinks.

I did have some weak moments. During winter sports in January I drank a delicious glass of white wine with the traditional Tartiflette Savoyarde, a dish with potatoes, bacon, onions and cheese. And twice after making music with my music mate K. I drank a beer.

Other than that, it went well with the insistence. I give harmonica to a group of people 2 evenings a week. When I get home around 10 o'clock, I'm really hungry for a Belgian beer. I manage to control that with an alcohol-free alternative.

And Friday we went to the movies with F. and J for the first time since the lockdown. Usually we end up in the pub afterwards. Not this time as the movie ended late and we had to rush to catch the train home. So I didn't have to explain anything. A happy accident.

Meanwhile, a reservoir of alcohol is forming in my basement. On the occasion of my birthday I had bought some Lentebok, if anyone wanted a beer. (It was nice to sit outside all together, that's not often possible on my birthday.) But nobody drank beer, so that's still there.

My oldest sister came with a package of cheese, crackers and white wine. I kept quiet about not drinking for a while, and I just let it be. My son also gave me a package with wine, nuts and cheese. They know what I like. "I don't drink alcohol anymore," I said. 'Huh? That was only in January, wasn't it?'

Furthermore, the bottle of Christmas port and the Irish whiskey from my harmonica glass are still staring at me from the drinks cabinet. Those glass doors might not have been such a good idea after all.

I have not posted the blogs I have written in recent weeks on my Facebook or LinkedIn page. They don't need to know I don't drink. Maybe I'm also afraid that they think I have an alcohol problem. While that is not the case by all objective standards.

There comes a time when I have to confess. Am I coming out of the closet and declaring myself a non-drinker? Or do I find a balance and drink occasionally and only when I want to? Next week is my last blog in this series. Then I will make decisions – I think…