At Five Months

You will become an example.

A friend of mine I have known my whole life was taking a year off of drinking. He wanted to see if he could do it as he had heard that a true alcoholic could never do such a thing. The day came when he was to have his first drink and it was no problem. Two beers with lunch and waiting 45 minutes after his last drink did the trick. Then the big game came. " I remember getting there" my friend said, " and that's it. I woke up passed out in bed with my girlfriend asking me how my night was." He was bummed that he drove home but not as much as his girlfriend. " Your an idiot for driving like that!" was her first response, followed by several others indicating my friend's lack of mental ability. At the end of her rope she uttered the words my friend and I thought would never be spoken. " Maybe you should hang out with TJ more often." My friend almost fell out. Had this poor sweet woman seen me with my 3 bottles of wine a night alone in my apartment crying myself to sleep every night? Had she seen me pouring water in the hard liquor bottles so nobody would know how much I drank at night...only to finish of the bottles later? Had she seen how badly I treated the women I knew when I was drinking?
No
She has only known me for 5 months and she has only seen me sober. 6 months ago I would have gotten hammered with my friend at the game and who knows what would have happened. Instead I am an example to someone! The only thing I would have been an example of 6 months ago would have been a worthless drunk. Today I am the kind of guy a woman wants her man to be more like. Recovery is a trip!