My Christmas Miracle is that i am still sober. Last day I drank was Nov. 7. I have a goal of reaching Jan. 20.  Read into that however you want, but yes these arbitrary dates have political inspirations. I know that's not the perfect method to maintaining long haul, but as of today it is working short term, which is how my government works. The duct tape approach to an omnibus, wtf that might be.

So yeah. I am proud to report i didn't slide. I am well received by friends & family. Room turns on me the minute i reach for booze, they "boo", so it has helped with conditioning my behavior. 

I have to admit that so much of my habit has been built on the conditioned response. Need a plumber? Grab a drink! Spouse sucks today? Grab a drink! Too fat for your pants? Grab a drink! And so on. 

I use alcohol when things go bad, but also cuz it's a holiday.. Arbor day needs to be celebrated with craft beers! As an addict, there is a mouse frantic in the maze, looking for that one turn, that one little gap that opens the door to freedom in abandon. My crazy wants out!!! Reasonable self wants to invite bad decision self in to take over.

I know this is coming off kinda jokey, but the reality of the toxic catastrophy that alcohol leads you into is no joke. I know many people have been personally impacted by the reckless decisions a drunk person has made. We had a friend who was the most likable guy. Cutest dog, cutest kids, sweetest wife, and always there for anybody who needed a hand. There are a lot of snotty people in my town, but he was the guy to give a warm hello if he caught you in the chip aisle at the grocer.

I'm afraid you may be anticipating where this is going. He was killed by a drunk driver on New Year's day, the day before his birthday, kids, wife, dog in his Tahoe when other driver came into them head on late morning. Driver was drunk, and it was a 5 lane 55mph that had a turn lane in broad daylight. 

Never would he have seen that coming. In such a heavy duty vehicle, you'd think they were safe. How does somebody cross that many lanes into oncoming traffic? He didn't have life insurance. His wife & children were left with the nightmare for life. 

To hear what happened to him, to think that some asshole just didn't care whose life he destroyed, how far reaching that destruction would be, it slaps me in the face. I think about times I have made bad decisions. I would confine myself to home drinking because if I started in public, the chances of a sober drive home were slim. I am grateful i have never been pulled over those nights.

Thing is, despite the woke culture & ubers, if you're at the bar on a hopping night, an alarming percentage of those people are driving themselves home. No one wants to admit that. No one wants to talk about a business built on the backs of alcoholics, how hard it can be to babysit people if you're supposed to cut them off. 

People are cut off when they're loaded already. The rest, who are pretty buzzed up as well, hold their liquor better i guess. 

I am not trying to go down that preachy path. Young people want to mingle, want to dance, want to take someone home. Alcohol lets that happen. It loosens us up enough to take chances. Unfortunately those chances can also be with the very lives of someone else.

This has been another episode of morning pontifications. 

Wishing you a festive, sober & zealot free holiday!