That Warm Glow

[retteacher]

I mentioned in the daily thread that my daughter, SIL, & kids came last night for dinner. They brought a bottle of wine some of which they & my husband drank...MUCH less than I would have. I also mentioned that I noticed that after the first slow sips, I could see that warm glow descend on them. They loosened up, joked around, & were less vigilant w/the kids...in short they were really enjoying themselves.

I'm very glad I stayed sober in order to notice this phenomenon. In the past, that warm glow (which really doesn't last very long) would have been my motivation to drink MUCH MORE. "If I can feel this great after a few sips, then I'm going to feel even greater if I have drink # 2, 3, 4, etc." Of course, it doesn't work that way, but the addictive brain THINKS it does.

I had the kids bring the bottle home. There was still quite a bit left in a bottle that 3 people had shared. (I noticed as I was doing the dishes that my husband left most of his second glass...that's how moderate he is.) Normal drinkers seem to know that chasing after the warm glow is futile.

I'm happy to say that I was perfectly satisfied to stay sober. I didn't have the warm wine glow, but I did have a wonderful evening. What more can I ask?

Mary

[1967]

hey... cool observations to make. "we" heavy drinkers assume everyone drinks almost as much as us, huh? it really isn't the case though.

ur doing the right thing for yourself! excellent!!

[retteacher]

Dear 1967 - BTW it's the year I grad from college...your birth year?:

Determinator once said (I paraphrase): If you handed a normal drinker a whole bottle of wine & told them to drink the whole thing, they'd be appalled. Normal for me, appalling for the normal drinker.

Mary

[Cinders]

Mary,

Once my husband drank 3 glasses of wine. My daughter remarked on it. "Mom, dad is drinking a lot of wine and he is really loosened up."

The sad thing is, it was the nicest the guy has ever been in 30+ years.

However, in the morning, he woke up, looked at me and said, "What did I do??? I have such a huge headache, NEVER let me do that again."

Okay, he has done it once in 30+ years.

I'll let is slip. (omg, roflmao!!!)

But, it really shows the difference in us "alkies" and "non-alkies" Hubby thought that 3 glasses of wine was a huge mistake and begged me to never let him to do that again. (Okay, he never tried, never asked, I never had to do anything to make sure he didn't do it again.)

Us "alkies" drink until we are sated. Sated means...... (in my case, total drunk, blacked out, stupid.)

Love,
Cindi

[AAthlete]

Isn't it amazing that you can sit and watch people drink, still have a great time, and not feel like you are missing out on anything? As you mentioned, my alcoholic mind wants me to take that first drink, because it know that if it gets one in me one is never, ever enough.

We had a weekend party, and I have a SIL how is an alcoholic and as the party progressed she got more and more demanding. She actually got upset because I hadn't gotten around to downloading two songs to play. I realized that she tries to control everything and everybody around her because she has no control over her own life. I thank God I have the serenity now to simply let that slide and go on having a good time..

[AMELIA]

Good for you Mary,

It is really interesting being sober while others are drinking (even if they are not drinking alot).
I also absolutely hate the smell of alcohol when I am sober!
x

[cmhguy3]

Awesome Mary,

Sounds like it was a very enjoyable evening.