SUNDAY 20TH NOVEMBER 2022
A fairly unremarkable week, other than the fact that it has rained and rained and rained. Qatar have done a U-turn on their promise to allow alcohol in stadiums at their farce of a World Cup and, despite my low opinion of alcohol at the moment, I think my low opinion of FIFA is stronger on that point! This week has, however, seen a significant milestone: as of close of play yesterday, I have now gone a full 150 days without alcohol – my longest entirely alcohol-free spell, I reckon, since I was 17.
MY WHY
I should probably take the time to point out that, no, I wasn’t gaily downing the Chardonnay whilst pregnant and breast feeding but I did allow myself the odd glass so it wasn’t completely alcohol free. And anyway, I don’t think that really counts as I discovered when a friend quizzed me about it when I told her about my plans to go alcohol-free. I haven’t read a huge amount of quit lit but, from the little I have read, and the podcasts I’ve listened to, it would seem that Gray Area Drinkers have never had a problem reining it in during periods of pregnancy and breast feeding and no-one feels the need to congratulate themselves for it – it’s just what women do. Of course, there is the very serious issue of women unable to stop during pregnancy and the resulting foetal alcohol syndrome but that is a whole other issue beyond the scope of my Gray Area blog. Whilst growing and nourishing another human being, a woman’s body is in a whole other state doing all sorts of amazing hormone-fuelled things that it wouldn’t normally do so it is impossible to compare that state of being to the pre-pregnancy drinking state and put the differences down to the removal of alcohol. As I pointed out to my friend, drinking alcohol during pregnancy is very much frowned upon so, in not doing so, a woman is merely following the rules. However, out-with the world of pregnancy, drinking alcohol is positively encouraged in our western society and it is the not doing so that is seen to be worthy of comment. Also, when a woman stops drinking whilst pregnant, she is doing it for the good of the baby, not herself. I won’t deny that the desire to be the best mum I can be is a huge motivating factor for me, but it is not the sole purpose of this alcohol-free journey. I am doing this for myself and, now that I stop and think about it, it is probably the first truly self-serving thing I’ve done in a long time. Go, me! So, now that I have those 150 days under my belt, I am moving into uncharted alcohol-free territory and I am very excited about what might unfold. Despite my blip earlier last week, I do know that this is all working for me and I can see some positive results.
Theme Tune: My, Myself, I by Joan Armatrading