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I published my first public blog post in March of 2016. I had never intended to blog or had any interest in writing until I stumbled over a website called Hello Sunday Morning while searching blogs to help me stop Drinking. You see I was 50 years old, the mother of an 11 and 15-year-old, and I was struggling to figure out how to stop drinking without AA. I knew that my “wine time” was becoming an increasingly dangerous daily routine but I could not imagine adding nightly AA meetings to my already packed schedule. And I also could not wrap around the stigma of thinking of myself as an alcoholic who needed AA. So I started reading books and blogs written by women just like me and that led me to my alternative to AA – blogging privately in an online community. One year later, after writing and writing and writing my way sober in that private anonymous space, I opened my own public blog space and shared my first two posts around the internet- I Came Out Sober about Redefining my Me Time.

Publishing those first two public blog posts ( Coming Out Sober and Redefining Me Time) was a heady experience. Both were published not only on the blog that I had just started on a do-it-yourself easy website building platform, but also in Huffington Post and on a couple of online parenting magazines ) I spent weeks writing and refining them with help from friends and then took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and sent my story out into the world for all to read. Publishing my story publicly, and sharing that story on social media with friends and family, and work colleagues who had no idea even that I had stopped drinking or why was terrifying. But it was important to me to reach out and reach back the way the women whose stories I’d read a year before had reached out to me.

Not surprisingly, although I had carefully written my story to open minds rather than cause a defensive reaction, it was met with discomfort by some. In 2016 our culture was awash in defending Mommy’s Right to Drink ! and public proclamations that nightly de-stress drinking could lead to dangerous addiction – were often met with scorn or at least a disclaimer like this one from an online mag called Lose the Cape:

Editor’s note – our mission at Lose the Cape is to make sure we provide view points from all mothers… to allow a space where moms can share their insights, their experiences, and how they do motherhood. This post expresses the journey of one mother, and I am grateful to her for sharing this story with us about how and when she realized she was drinking too much and what she decided to do about it. It is by no means a judgement against mothers who enjoy a glass of wine in the evening (or I’d be in BIG trouble!) but please do be sensitive to our guest contributors perspective.

Now in 2021, the situation with my generations’ relationship to alcohol and especially with women of my generation, is considerably worse than it was when I started publicly reaching out and reaching back. The statistics are mind-numbing really. Pre-mature deaths from alcohol-related causes have more than doubled in the last 20 years and the largest increase is among women my age. We need to find one another, share our stories and learn to Redefine our Me Time as something more vibrant and life-affirming than Wine o’clock.

Blogging and community outreach on the internet has become a passion for me. I went from a total incomprehension of anything “tech” to building a website and starting a private, anonymous blogging community like the one that helped me stop drinking 6 years ago. There is so much creative possibility with the internet. I have found that reaching out with ideas and compassion in a non-commercial, creative way has filled the void I felt when I first stopped drinking away my evenings. And that void has long since filled with me. If you’re drinking too much too often come talk to us.

Don’t let the shame of the stigma associated with addiction keep you from saying

“I think I have a problem with drinking”

In a world where alcohol is the only drug that people will question you for not using , we’ll help you find your own path. BOOM! Rethink the Drink .

The following posts, tell the story of why and how I stopped drinking by blogging my way sober. I hope that today, on Mother’s Day, these words inspire you.

Redefining Me Time

A former Wine Mom’s Guide to Alcohol-Free Serenity

More reading on our Boozemusings blog to inspire you this Mother’s Day

How do You Stop Drinking and Stay Sober with a Partner Who Drinks?

An Ode to Freedom From a Newly Sober Mum

Mummy Juice

Stop Drinking Blogs – Posts that helped me get sober and stay that way :

Unpickled

Tired of Thinking About Drinking

Hip Sobriety

Off Dry

We are a Private, Anonymous, Online Forum, open to anyone hoping to stop drinking or take a break from the booze. An international group tucked away from the busy commercial noise of social media but there for you at the touch of a finger when you need us most Sign up and sign in via our Web Site here or download the free Mighty Networks app and find us at BOOM Community Rethink the Drink.

The post Blogging Away from “Wine o’Clock” – A Sober Mom “Redefining Me Time” appeared first on Boozemusings.