I've stopped numbering the days since I began, and I'm no longer titling each entry 'Breaking Booze.' You may have noticed. There's more to it now. I believe both of those things were pertinent in the beginning, but no longer necessary. I am indeed still practicing awareness when it comes to alcohol. Kelsey and I got away for the day to Saugatuck on Tuesday. We started the day with a smoothie, so were pretty hungry when we arrived to the antique store that we so much enjoy. We stopped by the brewery for lunch. I mentioned we don't drink a lot of beer these days, even before 'Breaking Booze,' but we went for it and each had one with our sandwich. Not enough to catch a buzz, so we didn't go from giddy to groggy like people tend to do when they day drink - unless of course they just keep drinking, and then there goes the day. From there, we spent a good two hours looking at all the antiques. The store is huge and I am pretty sure we covered every booth. I love seeing the old technology and going through all the records. I saw so many things for the first time, and some that I hadn't seen since I was a small child. There was this phone I had when I was a teenager, that you can see the inner workings of it all throughout. I took a good minute looking at that and holding it in my hand, remembering how exciting it was when I'd hear the phone ringing from the other room and race to get there in time to catch my friend, or better yet, a love interest. Then, of course, you have to stay there, in that spot for the entire duration of the call. Kids these days don't know cords like we did. Listen to me. But it's true. Technology has come so far just in the last couple of years, let alone in the past twenty. And that's nothing. I can only imagine how my senior friends feel. All these apps and sites and ways in which to communicate - they are a blessing, no doubt - but I get overwhelmed sometimes just hearing about them. I appreciate all the forms my friends can come in these days, especially the ones from afar. We have Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat and this new-to-me thing called Marco Polo. We can FaceTime and Skype and use our Siri to send voice texts. It's all really cool. But if you can't put your phone down long enough to look the person in front of you in the eyes while they are telling you a story, you're no better off with the technology than you would be without it. In fact, you're worse. We're losing our ability to be with people. Yes, small talk can be uncomfortable, and sometimes, waiting in line may feel like forever, but look around a little. Make the person behind the register smile. Not everyone is comfortable with this and I get that. But you'd be surprised how you can affect another person and contribute to their day. Or, perhaps start at home. I am. I told Kelsey this morning, that I want to be more attentive and become a better listener. I struggle with it at times because of how busy I consider my mind to be. The least I can do is put my phone down or close my computer when she walks into the room, excited to see me. And that goes for you too. I am going to really try and listen to you. New blog idea? Called 'Breaking Being A Bad Listener.' Kidding kind of.
Back to Saugatuck, figuratively. After loading up our backseat with other people's stuff, we went into town and walked by the water. The sun was shining all day. We didn't mind much that most of the stores hadn't yet opened for the season. We shopped a little and had coffee. We stopped by a little Mexican restaurant on our way out and each had a margarita with our quesadilla. I do feel like we drank less during that trip than we may have in the past. Two drinks a piece for the day and spread hours apart. I'm not even sure that we consciously did that. I really believe that we're just finding less of a need to drink as much. The next day, we didn't have any alcohol. We're figuring out this moderation thing with booze, and now I'm going to do the same with technology. I've already begun in bits and pieces. Baby steps. Thank you for that wisdom, Dr. Leo Marvin (What About Bob?). Thanks for reading! Peace and love.
-Steph
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