No: Alcohol In 2020
The Universe has a funny way of showing you what you need even when you might not realize it. Last Thanksgiving, unbeknownst to me what was lurking around the corner that was 2020, I voluntarily decided I was going to go a full year without alcohol.
My relationship with alcohol has been atypical but still not unheard of. Very early in my teens I knew that we had a several alcoholics in our family from past to current generations. We had an alcoholic living in our home throughout my adolescent. Alcohol was mysterious and dangerous as it sat in our ill-guarded “liquor cabinet”. My family loves re-telling stories about rubbing whiskey on my gums when I was teething to soothe my “pain”. I can definitely remember on more than one occasion growing up being given a sip or two of beer by well meaning aunts and uncles. Even though alcohol was not consumed much within my home (to my knowledge), it had a place at every family gathering, vacation, celebration, impromptu party, or holiday affair. I clearly didn’t have the full scope of what alcohol would mean in my life and those around me.
Because I was such a dork (i.e. scared out of my tween brain), I didn’t really drink alcohol when all my friends were “sneaking” it from their parents. The smell alone put me off — but that didn’t stop my friends from egging me on. Peer pressure at its peak in the 90s. Finally, I caved and tried my first hard…
