I continue!

I'm getting better and better mentally. I still haven't "sinned," because I haven't had an irresistible appetite for wine. This week there were two challenges. On Wednesday I went to catch up with my son in a Vietnamese restaurant. I had chosen that especially because they have delicious non-alcoholic drinks there, such as green tea with lemongrass and ginger. It turned out to taste great with food prepared with lots of fresh herbs. Saturday evening it seemed to be a bit more difficult: I was dreading an alcohol-free evening. We had dinner with friends, who had prepared a veritable feast for us: fresh pasta with hare, cote du boeuf with artichokes and red chicory salad, and nut cake for dessert. Like us, they are also lovers of good wines and they served a – according to my partner – delicious Italian Nebbiolo. I took a sniff at his glass, but had no qualms about not tasting it, nor did I get grumpy, which I had all night at another dinner party earlier this month. I had told our friends about IkPas in advance and they had provided crodino and coke zero: that turned out to be a good move, I had such good alternatives. The evening was just as enjoyable without wine as with it. What also helped was that I focused more consciously on the food.

At home I was happy and proud that I hadn't been drinking: I was still fresh and sleeping well. However, the crazy dreams still keep coming. During the week at half past four – the time of my first wine – I have a lot of support from my alternative of Seedlip Spice (non-alcoholic gin) with half a squeezed grapefruit and tonic zero: I look forward to it just as much now as I did to the wine in the past . I notice that it also affects me less and less when I walk past the wine shelf through the supermarket. With IkPas still a week to go, I've been thinking a lot about how I'm going to handle it next. Last week I had already decided to participate in the 40-day IkPas from 26 February. Now I have reached the point that I have chosen not to drink wine in February either. Why would I even start again when things are going so well? I'm afraid I'm going to make it difficult for myself again. Mentally I have invested a lot in 'rehab' and have made great progress with it: much better sleep, fitter, no more hangovers and in general happier and much calmer. I'll go for it and see you after April! If I'm embarrassed with a glass of wine in the spring sun on a terrace, I'll just pick it up again the next day. I'll give myself that space.