So...What is the "Norm" Anyway?

A couple of weeks ago, my sister asked if she could come spend a couple of days with me at camp.  I was very eerie when I said yes because I've been sober and I didn't want to disappoint her.    My sister and I are like best buds and we're also drinking buds. I told her that I had quit drinking again but this time I felt different. I told her that I felt a new "me"... healthy and happy.  She told me that she wanted to quit smoking anyway so she wouldn't drink if she came up (she can't quit smoking and drink at the same time).
So it was a go.

She came up here on Saturday and we had a great time....went to the beach....read...played with the kids....had nice chats.
We were invited to a spaghetti dinner where all campers get together under a pavilion and socialize...eat ...and chat.   We brought our water bottles and enjoyed our meal.

When we got back to camp, we asked each other the same question.  Is it "normal" that people go to these functions, without alcohol?  Out of 75 people there, we only saw 1 person with a beer.  We came to the conclusion that if we had been drinking this weekend, we would have both showed up there, sloshed, with our little hidden containers of alcohol and wanting more and more.  We would have been loud and obnoxious to most people there.  We know because we did it last year at a different event here in the campground.

I thought it was normal that most people drank all day during the day around here. But it's not!   I thought I was part of the norm!   I'm not.    Most people here don't drink like I did.....start at noon...pass out at 5.  Wake up.  Drink more until 1 or 2 in the morning.  You know what I mean?  I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are people like that, but not most of them!
I'm in bed by 11PM now, sober, able to tuck my kids in, say prayers with them, thanking God for the good things in our lives.  That's normal!  That's who I want to be!  That's who I've become!

People who aren't alcoholics don't drink like I did.  They can leave it or take it when they want.    The people who are are easy to spot in the crowd are the ones that are drinking, loud and clear, obnoxious.
After all my years of drinking, I could only sit back and wonder who spotted me in the crowd and thought "There's an alcoholic".


I'm on Day 16 of sobriety.  I ran my first 6 K(in a long time) here two days ago and when I was running on this beautiful Island, I came upon a deer.  It brought tears to my eyes and helped me realize the beauty of God's creations are sent to me on a daily basis.  Now I can see them clearly.






To all my blogging support, the Internet was down for a few days so I haven't had a chance to post or read but I'll catch up.  Thanks for not giving up on me!  xo