2019 slow down! Does anyone else felt like this year is already flying by? I must admit I have only really just started to get into the year. I still haven’t even sorted out my diary for the year so am flying by the seat of my pants.
I haven’t set any resolutions for this year which is probably a good thing as I would have broken them by now anyway!
This year I am making changes to how I operate. A bit like Deanne 2.0 – time for a reboot. I said to Mr Sleep Lover we need to look at what is working and what is not for the family. Yes, we are really getting into Adulting this year – looking at our finances, our health and fitness, the kids schedules, all the things we are currently doing and cutting back or doing things differently or better.
So the first thing I am working on in 2019 and the year I finally get my shit sorted is my health. Like most mums my health has not been my priority. I’ve always been too tired or busy or insert some other excuse here.
So where I am starting from?
I am about 30 kg overweight. I must admit I have had some great food and wine that has contributed to this, but it has all caught up with me. I have puffy ankles and over summer that is not pleasant, I have aches and pain in parts of my body I didn’t know could get sore, and some days feel really old. As I had my youngest at 39 I have realised I may be an older grandmother, so I want to be fit and fun for that!
While I am not focusing on the number it would be nice to say goodbye to the muffin top that I have got and to go shopping and not get depressed about how things don’t fit or look good.
So while I need to look at my diet and what I put into my body to start feeling better the biggest change I have committed to this year is not drinking any booze. Yep, you read that right a whole year with out any wine.
Anyone who knows me, knows I love a good drinking session and how much I love a white wine.
As Caroline Knapp wrote in her book Drinking – a love story – I was a white wine junkie.
Since my birthday in September 2017 I have gone periods with out any alcohol and last year managed to go seven months before I had a few sessions on the festive fizz.
Let me say during my time off the booze I felt amazing. My anxiety disappeared and life seemed easy. No shouting at the junior sleep lovers, no arguing with Mr Sleep Lover, no wasted days with hangovers and best of all the quality of my sleep improved. Sure I still got woken by the littlest sleep lover most nights but I could deal with that as I was refreshed and not spending the week detoxing and trying to catch up on my sleep.
So 2019 will be a booze free year for me! Besides the health benefits I also want to show the junior sleep lovers that there is another way to live that doesn’t involved spending time at the bottom of a bottle. I also want them to know they are not the reason I drank. Sure, they are the reason I need a nap some days but they are not the reason I was avoiding living my life to its fullest.
I will write more about my journey to get this decision in another post. There was no hitting rock bottom, Just a realisation that I can’t have one one or two drinks and stop. While I only drank on weekends, I was a classic binge drinker that spent the next week detoxing. It was getting to be like ground hog day. I just started questioning what does alcohol do that makes my life better and so far the answer is nothing.
When I do something new I like to research and read as much as possible. If there was a degree in quitting booze I would be an A+ student.
These are the books I have read that have been an excellent resource and provided a lot of aha moments! If you are sober curious or just want a great read then I recommend the following books.
And on Instagram these are the accounts I follow to keep me motivated and provide tips for an alcohol free life.
@sexysobriety, @sober_in_the_country, @hello_sunday_morning, drylifeclub, @soberinvegas, @thesoberschool, @thesobereffect, @clare_pooley
So tell me what are your biggest goals for 2019 and how will your sleep be affected by these goals?
Lets support each other and make 2019 a kickass year!
Dx
