I did it!  We made it!  Sober June absolutely flew by, and I did it without any cheating!  No alcohol for a month!

Sober June

I have to admit, I was really intimidated by the entire idea of not drinking for a month.  We’re dinks, I’m a runner, and I’ve centered a lot of my social activities around drinking for as long as I can remember.

I go to run club, run a few miles, then drink a beer.

I invite friends to catch up over dinner, we order some beers.

I’m working on the group fitness schedule for the next month, and I would pour a glass of wine to keep me occupied as I sifted through emails, making sure that we didn’t have any holes for the following month.  It was just something I did.

But I read Andy Cohen’s book when it came out late last year, and he made mention of doing a sober January, which was really curious.  Andy loves to drink, and features a drinking game on his show, which sometimes airs 4 nights per week during the high season.  But he did it!  So maybe I could, right?

So like I mentioned here, a friend posted on Facebook about 5 or 6 weeks back that he was curious about what it took to do a sober June.  I was intrigued, and after a really good hangover, and a horrendous bout with strep throat, (or strep thoat as they say here in the south). I was ready to be done with alcohol for a while.  So I jumped, both feet in, after reading a few articles on going sober for a month, and went for it.

Surprisingly, after a day or two, it wasn’t super hard!  I drank lots of other things.  Seltzers, fake beers, coffee, and tons of water, but I never felt a huge urge to grab a beer and start chugging.

A few times when it was hard?

I had a stressful day at work, and instead of heading home that night, which I really couldn’t afford, I headed to a coffee shop where beer was also served.  I really wanted a glass of wine, which I had gotten used to treating myself to, like if you get your work done, you’re “allowed” this treat.   The feeling was short-lived, and I decided on a cup of tea instead.

It was a smidge hard at first with dinner, when you just wanted a beer.

But other than that, it really wasn’t so complex. 

As I write this, it’s the first of July, and I haven’t run to the store for a bottle of wine.  Even better, I’m thinking of running to the store for fro-yo later.  I believe I plan to drink on the 4th, as I’m going to visit friends, and I’ve planned on it all month.  But one good thing about this is I don’t necessarily feel the need to drink in a social situation.  And I think that that’s what this month of sobriety has taught me.

Stay tuned for my tips on doing a sober month!