Time....
There's many things that I've discovered alcohol has robbed from me.....clear memories, countless nights of anxiety free sleep, youthful hair & complexion, not to mention the friends that either got fed up of me or that I pushed away due to my own paranoia/anxiety. One of the most surprising things though was time.
As a full time working mum of 2 young boys I never expected to have much time to myself, but over the past few years I've felt like not only do I have no time for myself, but no time just to keep all the household stuff ticking over. Getting bills paid, washing done and put away, house kept clean & tidy all feels like a monumental task. Any then there's the other stuff I want/need to get done - decorating, selling old stuff. It's always felt totally impossible to get anywhere near to ticking off my to-do list.
But each time I quit drinking I suddenly find I have more time. Evenings which used to be spent half comatose on the sofa - feeling too tired to do anything - now feel like they have a slither of light to getting things done. Over the past few days I've managed to clean and vacuum my car (which was disgustingly dirty!), paint the staircase wall to cover the holes from previous stairgates and dirty fingerprints and get the ironing up to date. And so despite being pretty tired on this cold Monday morning I am feeling upbeat and enthusiastic. OK not so enthusiastic that I managed to get out for a bike ride as planned but we are only on week 2!
Today in the UK is known as Blue Monday. I recall that on this day a couple of years ago I was "ill" in bed. Genuinely feeling too unwell to work but likely nothing physically wrong except for not looking after myself properly. And this time last year I was signed off work with anxiety & depression. However I'm feeling this week I'm going to be thankful for my journey so far and I'm excited for all the sorting out I'm going to have time to do over the coming weeks... (OK I know - I need to get out more, but we are in a national lockdown! 😂).

Time (and being 100% present at all times) is one of the best gifts I've received since quitting drinking!
ReplyDeleteIt's the one thing I never expected!
DeletePS Thanks for commenting - it was super exciting to get my first comments! :-)