Last night, I poured myself a glass of wine. You might think this is fairly normal practice, particularly after a long day with three twittering starlings in tow. However, I have been on a booze-free challenge for the past five months.
It was not something I planned. It just happened quite by default and once I began my journey on the ‘dry road’, one thing led to another and before I knew it I had abstained for 150 days. It became an experiment to see how long I could last and what the benefits would be. The first challenge was how I would substitute my much-loved evening glass of wine. At first, I tried iced water but this simply did not have the same kick. I then trialled Elderflower but found it too sweet. Finally, I settled on Diet Coke, a drink that I had survived on as a student, alongside pints of cider and blackcurrant, of course.
The results of the drink-free experiment have been varied. I certainly felt a great deal fresher in the mornings. I could easily cope with the children’s 6.30am rises and sprung out of bed, rather than waking crossly and pleading with them for five more minutes. I have even managed to keep my cool on the odd midnight calls for water calmly getting up to fill their cups, rather than shouting from my pillow for them to go back to sleep. The children have greatly benefited from my new- found energy, patience and the odd enthusiasm – enough so to even allow a few hand painting sessions at the kitchen table.
However, at 7.15pm when the children are in bed, the click of a coke can does not have quite the same effect as the pop of a cork. I have also missed the odd night in the pub as it just isn’t the same drinking a ‘softie’ perched on a bar stool. Most interesting though is how much quieter our social life became with fewer invitations for supper. Our sober company is clearly not as enticing. On the odd evening we have been out, I have spent a good deal of time convincing the hosts that I am neither pregnant nor a recovering alcoholic.
Thankfully, my experiment has come to an end. Again, not planned, but after a particularly stressful day with The Toddler, coupled with the late evening sun setting over the fields I found myself reaching for a chilled bottle of white from the fridge. It is good to be back.
