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The comments shared in this post resonated strongly with me. How lucky am I, as a highly aware alcoholic, to be reading such lovely words?!

Throughout my years of sobriety, especially during the holidays, I continue to find tremendous gratitude and appreciation for being able to stay away from alcohol.

I celebrate hard and drink a lot of delicious drinks- iced cold water with a peppermint candy dropped in is a delicious peppermint tea that is my favorite.

This is the first holiday season in which my dad has passed. He was my sober Knight in Shining Armor. I crave seeing him, listening to him, hugging him and our authentic conversations. I miss his lovely spirited and gracious manner. I miss the stories he repeated over and over again- “Did I ever tell you this story? Oh Heidi, you’re the best thing that ever happened in my life. I’m so grateful and proud of you. You’ve always been so gracious and fun to be around.”

Nobody else has ever said those words to me before.

I hold in my body, mind and spirit an overflowing gratitude for him.

Not only did he treat me like a princess daughter, he elevated my consciousness to a degree that no one else could.

My grateful heart and immense spirit for life, on any day, is the best gift ever.

Being sober, mindful and gracious is a human trait that I have developed as my sobriety continues on a day to day basis. I work hard and play hard to keep my spiritual health at its peak.

With gratitude, kindness and living my authentic life, I am able to feel and process my emotions in a healthy manner.

Thank you all for your inspiring comments 💖

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Thank you for being here and sharing, Heidi. Wishing you much tenderness and care as you navigate the holidays without your dad. That much be so hard. But what a gift that you had him, he had you, and the connection continues. ❤️

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Thank you for the mention! Wishing everyone a very happy and safe holidays :)

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Happy holidays, riya!

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Wonderful collective wisdom and advice. Thank you for putting this all together Dana! Merry Christmas x

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Thank you for sharing your tender, heart-sourced story, Ellie. ❤️

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Love these. After six years of not drinking alcohol, I don't think about there being anything to safeguard or protect. I trust myself to not even want it. And if some part does want alcohol, I sit with it and see what it needs, rather than lock into defense mode. (Now sugar - that's a different journey of patience and acceptance!)

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Beautiful, Caitlin. And I hear you - there’s always another place of patience and practice!

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I'm glad that many pubs in UK now offer AF beer on tap. And that our craft beer micro bars usually have some good AF options. I'm glad that kombucha became such a thing. And hey, I love my sodastream! (For transparency, I'm not totally AF but I hardly drink and I love how the sober community has led the way in resisting the "must booze" public culture that we used to have, and has proved to hospitality industry that people do want and will buy AF drinks.

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Such great tips! Thank you for putting this together ❤️ Merry Christmas!

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Thank you for being here, Kaitlyn! ❤️

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Thank you for sharing, everyone, and Merry Christmas! ❤️

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