Day 50. Allow me a moment to shout that out loud again - "Yes, it's day 50 without a drop of alcohol" and it sounds just brilliant to be able to say it. I'm chuffed to bits of course, but when can I truly say I've cracked this whole thing? I don't think I can quantify that question with some arbitrary number of days - maybe I will just know!
I have to be cautious of course, but I keep asking myself how could I go back to drinking now? Is it too late for that now I've seen the light? Now I've experienced how good I felt every single one of those 50 mornings, seen how my fitness has returned with a vengeance, measured the BMI improvement and even carved a brand new hole in my omnipresent brown leather belt, seen my monthly spending plummet, noted how positive my thoughts are and how content life is - and frankly done so bloody much more with my life?
Yes, I feel like a brand new person and suddenly if feels harder to give this new life up than to have another drink.
The weather in Southern Spain turned suddenly last week - it happens around this time of year - pretty much a year's worth of rain falls within a week or so before the heat starts building and the sun gets stronger through the Spring, and then pretty much stays out for the rest of the year. One of the advantages of splitting our time between two countries is that we can keep a flexible schedule. We can change plans at the drop of a hat. Usually this is to escape a forecasted period of bad English weather and to get ourselves over to the sun as quickly as possible - but this was one of the rare occurrences when the weather was going to be better in the UK - so we decided to book a last minute flight back to Manchester.
A week long spell of good English weather in March is a godsend, especially for those of us who love gardening. Vegetable patches need preparing, seeds need sowing, vines need pruning (yes I grow grapes in Manchester - although these will now produce copious amounts of fresh grape juice and grape jam, not the usual red wine), patios need jet washing, hedges need trimming, grass needs cutting, garden furniture needs to be brought out of storage. That rigmarole takes a week to finish at least.
We even managed a game of tennis at the local courts this morning too - once the overnight ice had melted away that is. Not quite Marbella tennis club surroundings, but our game is so much better having ramped up our game time recently, we even had a bit of an audience watching our rallies. I can't stop smiling and I am beginning to realise, even more so, how lucky I am to have Rachel to enjoy all this with - we both share the same vision coupled with a dogged determination to make things happen - the future is certainly bright. They say people are happiest in their 50s, but I really don't think I could have wished for a more contented situation at the age of 52.
I've removed Whatsapp from my life too. I sent a last message to all my contacts explaining that I am uncomfortable with the constant pinging of the phone and that I feel it is detracting from life's true enjoyment. I am very happy to meet face to face, or talk down a telephone from time to time, but I'm no longer living my life on call using that damn messenger app - I'm enjoying my time too much I'm afraid and nothing is going to get in the way of that.
So the self improvement continues. My next target is Day 75. That milestone, if reached, will warrant my next blog post, but for now my garden awaits - in fact my sunny garden awaits.
I'm wondering if I'm beginning to just know.
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