Dry February: 2018

Last year I attempted Dry February and failed delightfully. 

This year, I'm going to give it another shot. 

Heh. Shot.

I've spent essentially the entire month of January without my full voice, sometimes more sick, sometimes less, but after four weeks of this I am SO sick of being sick. 

I finally went in to see the doctor at our company health clinic earlier this week and during the check in process the nurse asked the normal questions before taking my vitals. I gave my standard answers.

"Do you drink coffee or tea?"

Yes, I'm a Flight Attendant. 

"Do you smoke?"

No.

"Do you drink alcohol?"

Yes, I'm a Flight Attendant. 

I often joke about the...intense...relationship that Flight Attendants typically have with alcohol. 

In our industry it's just a known fact that flight crews drink, sometimes to excess. 

I've never really had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, probably because I consistently evaluate my habits when it comes to drinking. I try to be aware of what I'm doing because at the end of the day, alcohol is essentially poison.

Fun, socially acceptable poison, but still. Bad for ya.




At the conclusion of the appointment, the doctor had diagnosed me with "extreme extreme" congestion due to chronic allergies (WHAT?! I've never been a person with allergies in my life. WHO AM I?) and chronic dehydration due to my job ("All of you are dehydrated. All of you.").

While I was relieved to not have a sinus infection that would require antibiotics, I was mildly annoyed to be diagnosed with stuff that will require actual lifestyle changes to remedy.
You mean I have to, like... take care of myself?
And so, Dry February seemed like a thing worth trying again because alcohol is dehydrating and stuff.
Ugh.




I've decided that it's going to be easier this year than it was last year- my life looks very different in February 2018 than it did in February 2017.
98% of those differences are excellent.
2017 ended with some HUGE and painful changes, then suddenly (and possibly miraculously), things got really fantastic just in time for a new year to begin.

This year, I have a real reason to not drink (and no, I AM NOT PREGNANT. Seriously. The weirdest part of being in your late 20's is everyone thinking you're pregnant every time you turn down an alcoholic beverage or gain five pounds.) which is better than last year's vague motivation of "I just want to see if I can."
I'm hopeful that will make the next 28 days easier. Breaking a habit is hard, guys.
Not hard like things that are actually difficult, but not super fun either.

So here we go!

Dry February

I'm not a big believer in New Year's Resolutions. 

I'm also not a big fan of this "New Year, New You" idea. 

Like, I'm pretty great already thanks, just need a few tweaks here and there to be phenomenal but I'm doing pretty well. Kthxbye.

In 2017, I'm not trying to be a different person, I just want to a person who fits more comfortably into clothes I already own and love. My goal for this year is to be healthier so that I feel better and am more physically ready to do things that I want to do in the future.

Each month I'm planning on focusing on a different health conscious goal in the hope that I'll rebuild healthy habits that have fallen by the wayside in the past few years. 

(I mean seriously, it's been a heck of a five years. I ran for office twice, had at least ten different jobs, got married, got divorced, drove all over the country, started a totally different career, and a bunch of other things. Yeesh.)

In January my focus was on starting to physically move again. Getting back on that gym life track with the elliptical, doing a few minutes of yoga or pilates everyday, or even just walking aggressively on layovers, I've been pretty good about being more physically active each week.

Now that February is here, it's time to add another layer.

Dry February.

No alcohol for 28 days. 

I have plenty of friends who don't drink alcohol. 

Whether they just don't like it, they're overcoming addiction, or they're opting out for health reasons, I think it's cool that they're pushing back against cultural expectations that say they should drink to have fun. 

I, however, am not a sober person. 

By most health standards, I'm not a particularly heavy drinker. 

I have a drink or two a few times a week, usually while cooking dinner or at Pub Quiz. 

That said, I do love wine. And microbrews. And sparkling wine. And cocktails.

I'm a fan, and as I learned in my early 20's, I am someone who can hold their liquor and can be relied on to always drink responsibly. It's something I enjoy and something I'm proud of. 

My plan this month is to drink an additional glass of water whenever I would normally have an alcoholic beverage, on top of just abstaining from alcohol. Hopefully I'll come out of this lighter and better hydrated. 

I'm going to give this a whirl and see what happens. 

Did I choose February because it's the shortest month? You bet I did.

Will I be able to go 28 days without a single glass? Let's find out!