Well, this TWW is fairly flying by! Almost a week down already, and given that my “two weeks” is unlikely to be more than 11 days, that means we’re over half way there. Unless we’re lucky of course and I’ve caught, but let’s not get our hopes up, eh.
Time has flown past mainly because we’ve been so busy. Jay and I generally live a quiet existence, but this week we’ve had two overnight visitors, been to a party and travelled around 500 miles visiting and staying with two old friends (who live in different places)!
One thing that has really struck me in the midst of this whirlwind of social jollity is how much things in this country revolve around having a drink. It would feel so impolite to arrive to stay with someone without bringing wine. Flowers or chocolates just don’t really cut it. And, as for a party….well, the bottle and can recyclers will be earning their money this week.
So all in all, I’ve had an interesting experience observing others get slowly (or quickly) sloshed. The range of effects is fascinating. Take the party, for instance – Birthday Boy reduced to grinning and swaying (although, to be fair, he’s quiet and shy at the best of times), Hostess Woman turned uberhousewife, cleaning and scrubbing once all the guests had left (not a bad idea, actually – better than waking up to the mess), Smiley Friend becomes Giggling Smiley Friend and, most fascinating of all, Talk A Lot Friend morphing into Talk The Hind Leg Off A Donkey Don’t Pause For Breath It Might Let The Other Person Get A Word In Edgeways Girl. She even followed the hosts up to bed and continued to talk to them once they were in bed trying to sleep, before finally finding her way to the guest bedroom!
Don’t get me wrong, I like a drink myself. In fact I was positively gagging for one last night, though I managed to restrain the urge and console myself with extra helpings of potato salad. I do think though that having two weeks in every four totally sworn off the stuff is changing my perspective on drinking. The problem in the UK I think is that we are so enculturated into believing that we couldn’t possibly have a good time unless we get at least slightly tipsy, that we never actually go sober enough for long enough to realise that it’s simply not true.
Or maybe taking the moral high ground is simply a way of making me feel better about missing out?
One disadvantage to not drinking, when everyone around you sets such store by it being an essential ingredient to having a good time, is that a non-drinker is conspicuous. You get asked why you are not drinking, and you’d better have a damned good reason. Which is tricky for me because, whilst I do have a damned good reason, it’s not one I want to share with all and sundry. In fact, it’s not one that Jay and I have chosen to share with many people at all, yet (apart from the entire internet, of course). I have issues with discussing our TTC plans with people I actually know. I think though, that perhaps I should blog about that another day.
vee
2 responses so far ↓
Sara // July 9, 2006 at 9:10 pm |
I know exactly what you mean! When we were actively TTC, I had trouble coming up with reasons why I didn’t have a drink when we were in social settings. Luckily, I don’t drink very much anyway, so my “I don’t feel like drinking tonight” excuse actually worked! Let’s hope this is your LAST two week wait!!!
Tamsin // July 10, 2006 at 10:27 am |
I cut out alcohol completely about 6 months before we started ttc (as part of my whole “get healthy” plan), and was dreading it! I actually found that it was far easier to cut it out completely than it ever was to try & cut down/stop after one glass. I almost lost the taste for drinking completely. As the ttc dragged on and on, I did start drinking again from time to time (obviously not in the 2ww), but I’m really used to it now, and don’t miss it.
I do hear you on the social aspect of drinking though, it also made me so much more conscious of what a huge ingredient drinking is in all our socialising. If I don’t want to say why I’m not drinking, I either play the “I’m driving” card, or say I’m on antibiotics (and if people ask what’s wrong with you, say it’s for a dental thing, as they tend to be less questioning about that).