The Weekend + Living in Downtown Chicago – Alcohol = ? I am stumped on this equation. I want so badly to crack its code. But with one alcohol-free weekend down, I still don’t feel the answer is clear.
I had big, healthy dreams of checking accomplishments off my to-do list, setting new goals, having great conversations with a crystal-clear head and sweating out to hard-core workouts.
I’m sorry to report that none of this happened. However, I did notice a change in attitude as the weekend progressed.
Friday, with its end-of-the-week excitement, was by far the most difficult. What’s a Friday night without a little wine to take the edge off the week? Sunday, however, was a breath of fresh air. How awesome it felt to wake up early Sunday morning with a hangover-free head, motivated to tackle the week.
With that said, here’s what Detox Weekend #1 taught me:
- The perfect pictures in my head never quite play out the way I expect them to (BIG surprise). Just because I don’t drink, doesn’t mean I am going to be superwoman. I’m sure a clearer head helps, but it’s not the sole reason for procrastination.
- I can’t expect the transition from weekend drinker to Sober Stacey to be a walk in the clouds (at least right away). Being around people drinking is hard when you’re used to joining them. When your glass of wine is removed from your Saturday night, it feels a little bit like your teddy bear has been taken away. It’s a hard change. And that’s okay.
- If I want the rest of this detox to be successful, I have to know what I consider to be a successful detox. What do I want to achieve from doing this?
That last lesson is key. For all the time I spent obsessing about the idea of the detox, I never really determined my goals.
Now that the next weekend is upon me, I am prepared. I started this detox to find out if I could do more without alcohol. Hypothetically speaking, could all of us do more? What could we accomplish, what could we discover and how could we feel if we removed alcohol from the equation? Expect a full report on Monday. But feel free to comment here if you think you already have the answer.
