Alcoholism Support Group
Alcoholism is the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, even when it is negatively affecting your health, work, relationships and life. If you think alcohol is causing you to lose control, it's time to seek help. Our group is a safe place to vent, check in, get back up if you fall, and reach sobriety.
Just a couple weeks ago, I went out to dinner with a group of new friends, we were at "peer" training, all of us in some sort of recovery, be it mental health, or substance abuse, or both...
So the lovely old stone house inn... with the fireplaces and the silver tea sets and the "Paul Revere slept here" signs... and I'm nervous, because I'm out with new people, and I have to be, like, an ADULT and make conversation and stuff...
and don't you know, it's "Pizza n' Pitchers" night at the inn... so that's what we order, and they bring out the pitcher, and glasses for everyone... and I'm all, No thanks, I'll just have water... and after they poured beer for everyone around the table except me and some other guy, they set that pitcher practically ON my plate. And the guy to the right of me, he lets his beer sit all the way over at my place-setting, I'm not imagining this, if you saw an aerial photo of that table, you would laugh! There's me, sitting there with my hands in my lap, nervously picking at my napkin, and a big dripping beer an inch from my plate, the pitcher right in front of me, like it was mine.... I could smell it too... and there's my pitiful little glass of water...
The pizza comes, and you guys, I also have a 30 year battle with eating disorder, they start bringing out MOUNTAINS of pizza, so much pizza that they had to bring 43 little wooden side tables (probably wittled by Benjamin Franklin) to surround us and hold all this pizza... It was like friggin' FANTASIA with the pizzas..
So my peers start eating and drinking and yacking it up, and I'm just... I'm soooo small, and getting smaller, and that damn beer by my hand, do you know how many times I almost picked it up, just because it was sitting where MY DRINK should sit, and also because how many years did I just pick up that beer and slug it back...
I was a little uncomfortable, but not because I wanted to drink. I did not. But I felt like, it was just so IN MY FACE, and no one was... even aware that I might have a problem with it, and they should've known, we had all shared our stories of Recovery...
I guess I just wanted them to read my mind, and make an effort to help me out a little. And then we could chuckle sheepishly at our awkwardness, and carry on...
There's a lesson in there, tho, because the world does not bend over backwards to roll out the beautiful white rice paper path for you, so that you can ever so tenderly, gingerly trip along... FAR from it!
It wasn't all horrible, I did enjoy myself, and we had some laughs about the ridiculous amount of food. I noticed that even though they ordered 2 pitchers, (they were small) no one really got tipsy or much louder, no one stepped up and kept pouring and encouraging others to drink, in fact, they all seemed more focused on eating the food. And when we left, they left beer in the glasses and in that pitcher! I've just never seen anything like that. These people were drinking beer like it was... Sprite.
I was so grateful to be sober, and to have my wits about me, to be sitting with new friends, and to not feel that urge to keep it going, keep pouring, chug, chug, chug, let's get crazy, where we goin' next? Let's keep this party rockin'! Chasing that buzz... I was so grateful not to be that beer-chugging-pouring-pushing-wheedling little pain in the ass BEER MINION!!!
Here's the topper, the check comes, and they split it for us, so nice of them, I got to pay for 1/5 of those beers! Oh well, I had to laugh.
Tonight I'm celebrating 18 months of living, really living, and being whole and present and slightly defective and ever changing, ever growing... Recovery!
thanks for reading
So the lovely old stone house inn... with the fireplaces and the silver tea sets and the "Paul Revere slept here" signs... and I'm nervous, because I'm out with new people, and I have to be, like, an ADULT and make conversation and stuff...
and don't you know, it's "Pizza n' Pitchers" night at the inn... so that's what we order, and they bring out the pitcher, and glasses for everyone... and I'm all, No thanks, I'll just have water... and after they poured beer for everyone around the table except me and some other guy, they set that pitcher practically ON my plate. And the guy to the right of me, he lets his beer sit all the way over at my place-setting, I'm not imagining this, if you saw an aerial photo of that table, you would laugh! There's me, sitting there with my hands in my lap, nervously picking at my napkin, and a big dripping beer an inch from my plate, the pitcher right in front of me, like it was mine.... I could smell it too... and there's my pitiful little glass of water...
The pizza comes, and you guys, I also have a 30 year battle with eating disorder, they start bringing out MOUNTAINS of pizza, so much pizza that they had to bring 43 little wooden side tables (probably wittled by Benjamin Franklin) to surround us and hold all this pizza... It was like friggin' FANTASIA with the pizzas..
So my peers start eating and drinking and yacking it up, and I'm just... I'm soooo small, and getting smaller, and that damn beer by my hand, do you know how many times I almost picked it up, just because it was sitting where MY DRINK should sit, and also because how many years did I just pick up that beer and slug it back...
I was a little uncomfortable, but not because I wanted to drink. I did not. But I felt like, it was just so IN MY FACE, and no one was... even aware that I might have a problem with it, and they should've known, we had all shared our stories of Recovery...
I guess I just wanted them to read my mind, and make an effort to help me out a little. And then we could chuckle sheepishly at our awkwardness, and carry on...
There's a lesson in there, tho, because the world does not bend over backwards to roll out the beautiful white rice paper path for you, so that you can ever so tenderly, gingerly trip along... FAR from it!
It wasn't all horrible, I did enjoy myself, and we had some laughs about the ridiculous amount of food. I noticed that even though they ordered 2 pitchers, (they were small) no one really got tipsy or much louder, no one stepped up and kept pouring and encouraging others to drink, in fact, they all seemed more focused on eating the food. And when we left, they left beer in the glasses and in that pitcher! I've just never seen anything like that. These people were drinking beer like it was... Sprite.
I was so grateful to be sober, and to have my wits about me, to be sitting with new friends, and to not feel that urge to keep it going, keep pouring, chug, chug, chug, let's get crazy, where we goin' next? Let's keep this party rockin'! Chasing that buzz... I was so grateful not to be that beer-chugging-pouring-pushing-wheedling little pain in the ass BEER MINION!!!
Here's the topper, the check comes, and they split it for us, so nice of them, I got to pay for 1/5 of those beers! Oh well, I had to laugh.
Tonight I'm celebrating 18 months of living, really living, and being whole and present and slightly defective and ever changing, ever growing... Recovery!
thanks for reading
Hugs,
Dennis
hey girlfriend, next time that happens, if it does, move the glass full of beer in front of the person it belongs to. No need to torment yourself.
18 months? Awesome!
I didn't realise what a pain in the arse I was until I got sober.
I can picture you sitting there.....sheesh the demons were coming at you left and right, eh? Then they made you flip the bill! LOL
Seriously, I have been out to dinner way too much with drinking folks these days. I have almost three years of sobriety, but I still do not take for granted that if sit across from someone casually drinking-a little demon inside me will start saying I can drink normal too.
Never happened, but I do know I have to curtail these dinners a bit. No biggy-cuz I wanna live a long and sober life. If it means not attending a few social gatherings, big whoop.