The Year without Beer





I never thought about a year without beer or alcohol until August 2017. I had just moved back to Canada in May 2017 and had been enjoying a beer or a apple cider once in awhile. In mid August my family and I scored an apartment in a new city and we were moving there September 1st. I decided that a new city would be a great adventure for us. I drank my last alcoholic drink in August 2017 and decided to be sober from alcohol for awhile.





Moving to a new city was exciting it was like starting over. In most parts of western Canada alcohol can only be bought at specialized alcohol stores so abstaining from alcohol is quite easy as I could just avoid these stores. My apartment was located near an alcohol store but I never had the feeling to visit it. Other than that one store there are no alcohol stores within walking distance of my place. I didn't have a vehicle so I couldn't go to any other alcohol store easily.



Also at this time I had a young daughter and a son on the way. So I was quite occupied and didn't have anytime to waste of alcohol or money either. I got a job in late September that required me to work at six thirty in the morning. So I couldn't have any alcohol which would make me sleepy in the morning and possibly miss my work. I walked to work everyday and never missed a day of work the whole time I worked there except for family gatherings.



With the early morning wake ups I decided to stay away from alcohol and never bought or drank any alcohol and avoided work events that had alcohol. I got a Nintendo 2DS in October 2017 with Pokemon Moon and Mario. I played it religiously and spent all my free time with my wife and daughter. We visited places all over the city and explored the many parks in the city. My days were full with work and my family. The absence of alcohol wasn't even noticed.



In November and December I bought some new games for my 2DS and some Lego sets. My wife and I built Lego sets together and explored the city some more with our daughter. I got back into Pokemon and started to collect cards again. My wife also likes to collect too so we spent our beer money on things other than beer. January and February are really cold where I live which leaves people at home most of the time which leads to drinking. I spent time visiting family events and building snow angels with my family. My wife's family also visited and we traveled again to the famous spots in our city.



March and April aren't much better for outside activities as it is really cold and most family events for the winter are wrapping up as during the day the snow can melt and cause lots of black ice to form. During this time my wife and I mostly relaxed in our house and started preparing for the arrival of our second child. He arrived at the end of April and all our free time was occupied by him. We had no time to do anything besides wake up, eat, work, sleep and take care of our son. So at this point I hadn't even thought about alcohol for months.



May, June and July are the best months to go outside and enjoy the Canadian landscape if you like warmer weather. My family got a van so we traveled daily to parks and events. We visited libraries and bought books and games for our daughter. My wife also got a 2DS in June so we started to play video games together and spent our free time playing Mario against each other. I also strarted reading books again which I have review a few on this site.



Now here we are August 2018 or later and I am still sober and passed the one year mark as of writing this paragraph. It wasn't actually that hard to go a year without alcohol. My family and my job got me through the year. My excess beer money was spent on video games and items for my family. The extra time we had was spent travelling around and exploring. All in all it was a great year and my family expanded by one.



How I feel





So most people show great results after quitting alcohol for prolonged times. I have seen some improvements in sleep. I can sleep better now and I believe it is from eliminating alcohol from my life. I also wake up in the morning more refreshed and not drowsy or dull. The year with out alcohol really increased my stamina. Other than better sleep I also lost a few pounds and have kept off the weight so it great.





My feelings generally feel the same except for these two things. I haven't grown a foot or became a Olympian but I do feel like I have changed for the better and have turned into a healthier person. So I would call this year a success.









Final Thoughts





I am not anti alcohol by any means I just decided to take a break from alcohol and may in the future enjoy it again. However right now I am enjoying my free time with my family and don't see myself drinking alcohol anytime in the near future..











