#SoberCurious One Year Anniversary

A year ago this week, I made a decision to no longer allow alcohol to hold a significant role in my life. At first I reduced the frequency with#sobercurious, then I made it only for special occasions, and finally, I gave it up for Lent this year at the beginning of February and.... haven’t had even an ounce of desire for it since.
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I had a whole big blog post planned, poetic words to say about how no longer having ‘the thing’ that served as my social lubricant, long day/ week release valve & anxiety buster changed my life.
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The truth is, this decision did change my life- but in none of the ways I expected. And it wasn’t poetic- in fact it was pretty ugly leading up to the decision {post-wedding depression is a THING y’all} and after as I floundered a bit trying to reorient myself to finding new outlets for my anxiety & excess energy {which eventually led me back to being a serious athlete again- and much smarter this time around 💪🏻}.
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I could say a million things about choosing not to drink anymore, but really the core is that now that alcohol no longer has any footing in my life, I no longer feel like I need to hide. Hide from the fear, hide from the anxiety, hide from the friends I knew weren’t serving me, hide from the things that I thought I was protecting myself from by reaching the bottom of that glass {and you know I loooooooooved my bubbly 🍾}
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As a result, by no longer having the cave I used to hide in, I suddenly feel like I NO LONGER NEED THE CAVE AT ALL. 
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Turns out- my cave weighed 25+ extra pounds (and counting) that my body was carrying around to protect me at all times. Funny how when we let the cave go, the body no longer needs to hold on... 
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Which has led to a new level of visibility I’m still getting used to, but loving more than I ever thought possible.
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So I guess the poetic words still came through {what can I say, a Leo is a Leo 🤷‍♀️}. 
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I know it’s not a decision for everyone, and I totally know it may change over the years, but for now I’m so grateful I said yes to this choice a year ago, because it really has made all the difference. And that’s something I can definitely cheers to 👊🏻