It's strange that we've abandoned alcohol so easily, since we'd been drinking regularly from before we first met. We'd been cutting back a bit from our earlier days together when we'd consume a bottle of wine or more in an evening. But it never occurred to us to stop drinking, especially when all our friends drank.
Then one day in the spring we both realised that alcohol just wasn't doing anything for us any more, so why were we still guzzling it? Why not give it up? So we did. We were expecting it to be a bit of a struggle but we were amazed at how effortless it was.
It's saving us a lot of money of course, which is an added bonus. It was expensive enough just for the two of us, but if you're buying a round in the pub the cost is crazy.
Nobody has suggested that we're missing out by giving up alcohol, that we're party-poopers or strait-laced puritans. I suppose it helps that a lot of young people have gone teetotal, either for the health benefits or to save money or because they don't like being drunk. So rejecting alcohol has become somewhat fashionable.
Cheers!
That's very encouraging, since I'm currently trying to do the same thing. It may be different for different people, though. Some people are actually addicted to it.
ReplyDeleteInfidel: If you're addicted, giving up alcohol is very tough, but with Jenny and I it was just an unthinking habit that could easily be broken.
DeleteNick, the question is why did you stop drinking alcohol, even a good glass of wine from time to time ? For Saïd and myself a good glass of wine is part of a nice lunch or dinner , not every day but at least one or two times a week. I cannot imagine to eat cheese with a glass of water or juice or oh horror coca cola which I saw in a restaurant. For me it's a difference to drink every day or just from time to time. To be an alcohol addict is of course another problem.
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: Well, we all have different tastes and for some like yourselves wine completes a meal. But we've never thought that and we're very happy with alternative drinks. Not Coca Cola though, which we both dislike.
DeleteInteresting choice of words: You and Jenny "gave up" drinking. Obviously, I know what you mean, nevertheless it does have the whiff of sacrifice.
ReplyDeleteIn the run up to getting pregnant, whilst pregnant and, consequently, breastfeeding I didn't give up drink. I just didn't drink.
I am with Hannah and her comment that a well chosen wine is a pleasure to go with, say, a meal or sitting on the terrace enjoying a sunset. But then, I am not an all or nothing person.
U
PS See how you'll fare in Spain. Tapas without a chilled Fino? Only if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Ursula: I don't think "giving up" implies a sacrifice. We don't feel we're sacrificing anything - except health problems further down the line. We haven't been to Spain for many years, but tapas without wine would be fine.
DeleteI have cut back. It’s easy to get into the habit of a glass of wine with dinner every night. I’m limiting myself to three glasses a week now. Yes, it’s becoming fashionable to not drink. Unfortunately, all those mocktails are full of sugar, which I avoid.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Like you we steer clear of mocktails and their likely high sugar content. A fruit juice slips down very nicely, and is in no way a poor substitute for wine.
DeleteI stopped drinking alcohol at Christmas, bizarrely! I'm sure it stopped me sleeping, so that was that. I didn't miss it much either.
ReplyDeleteI've never liked wine - I just don't get why people like it so much!
Anyhow, I now spend the money I save on dog food.
Sx
Ms Scarlet: Good that giving up alcohol means sleeping better. And yes, you now have spare cash for dog food. Win win!
DeleteI have been a long time wine drinker. Even as a child we got a small bit of wine here and there, celebrations of some sort. I stopped drinking about 18 months ago because of a medication I'm taking that is doing me enough good that it is worth more to me than the wine. Even after a near lifetime of enjoying wine, I surprisingly had no difficulty with it. I do enjoy non alcoholic wine. It's not the same as the real thing but is good in its own right. Sparkling water has become a mainstay for me.
ReplyDeleteSandra: So like us you had no difficulty giving up. I thought I might struggle but not at all. I've never tried non-alcoholic wine, I must give it a go.
DeleteI don't drink hardly at all. Once in a while my daughter will make some "pretty" drink she found on a video so she can take a picture of it and ask me to taste it. I don't like alcohol so I usually don't like it.
ReplyDeleteMary: I think there are quite a lot of people who don't actually like alcohol but don't want to say so because of the possible reactions.
DeleteWe gave up alcohol years ago. When Dave was in the Army, social life included drinking but, after discharge, we simply didn't get into that type of community activity again. Dave's parents drank but mine didn't so we had examples of both and chose to follow mine.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: So you've had many years without alcohol. Hopefully that's also brought you health benefits.
DeleteI've just returned from a long weekend with my family, which involved at least a glass of wine every night with dinner. And I feel exhausted, but I'm not much of a drinker and can go for months without alcohol of any kind. Though I do like a really good glass of wine or a cocktail from time to time, inevitably when I'm with my family who are all much more social than I am!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, times have changed and no one seems to question not drinking alcohol anymore, thank goodness, my niece doesn't like being drunk, her brother, who says alcohol makes him forget where he lives, is careful not to drink too much, and my son can take it or leave it, depending on circumstance.
Eryl: Did you feel pressed into drinking by your family? Times have certainly changed and alcohol seems less popular than it used to be. Though there are still plenty of people who want to get as drunk as possible.
DeleteNot pressed, it's just part of their life and it sucks me in.
DeleteI don't drink. When I was younger we certainly did but as I got older I just stopped. I did have an uncle who had a drinking problem. He went to the hospital to dry out again. Unfortunately his liver quit. The family was called in to say their goodbye however he was unconscious & when they pulled the plug he was gone. I never saw someone in his condition. Sad. He had a great career & life. He was only 52.
ReplyDeletePaula: Sad that he was only 52 when he died, a life cut tragically short. Alcohol addiction can be very hard to break.
DeleteI've never been a drinker and i manage to get along quite nicely. Most people have never questioned it but I have one friend who offered me a wine every time we met for many years. I'm sure I told her I didn't drink but I think some people believe " I don't drink" means "I don't drink much"
ReplyDeleteYou'll save a bomb
Kylie: What part of "I don't drink" did she not understand?? It sounds like she desperately wanted someone to drink with so as to feel it was okay to drink.
Delete