Dry February: So Over It

I hated Dry February.

I hated it for the same reason I would hate cutting ANYTHING completely out of my diet: it sucks.

I didn't have an iron clad reason to stop drinking- I wasn't concerned that I might be facing addiction, I hadn't developed any new allergies or health complications... I mostly just wanted to see if I could do it.

I did not last the full month.

On February 17th I went to a brewery with my boyfriend and some friends, and I really wanted to try his weird beer (it tasted like kielbasa, but in a good way), so I did. 

Then I asked my friends if failing at Dry February would make for a better blog post, and when they agreed that it would, I sampled a flight (which amounted to about a drink and a half).

Wearing flannel while sipping beer at a microbrewery. WHAT AM I?

It tastes like sausage....... and that's a good thing??

I didn't have a beer because I felt like I needed to, I had a drink because I wanted to. 

I like drinking different drinks, not because of the affects of alcohol, but because the flavors are interesting and because I might be a closeted hipster. 

(I do wear a lot of flannel and very tight pants.)

After that, I was pretty much back on the wagon until almost-disaster struck.

I abstained for another week or so before I had a very exciting day at work that left me REALLY WANTING a glass of wine.

I can't go into the details, but for all you cabin crew people reading this, just know that my training kicked right in and no one had ANYTHING on their laps for that landing. 

A Flight Attendant's worst day of work if often pretty traumatizing. We were very lucky and everything ended up being totally fine. 

So when I finally got home, I had some wine and declared my Dry February experiment over. 

Here's my conclusion:

I don't want to completely eliminate anything that I enjoy from my life. 

Whether it's alcohol, ice cream, or anything else delicious, it's best in moderation. 

It's a good idea to pay attention to your consumption of ANYTHING and to be aware of what you're putting into your body. 

Depriving yourself of things you enjoy just isn't worth it, but do be honest with yourself about what you actually enjoy.

Are you drinking champagne because you genuinely like it, or are you drinking it to fit in when you'd rather have ginger ale in your glass?  Don't just do it for the insta.

Friend, go have the bartender fill your glass with whatever floats your boat.

(As long as you're of legal age and someone else is driving.)

I like champagne. I like vegetables. I like licorice. I have a passionate love affair with French Fries.

Some of that is cool. Some of that isn't. 

But I'm going to keep on enjoying the things that I like because I like them. 

You. Do. You.

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!