The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Step Into Our Christmas Thread!

[Mouseface]

Hello, I'm Mouse

A HUGE welcome to the Bus!

This is the one and only Gerald. Over the years, we've travelled far and wide gathering some truly remarkable Babes along the way, all of whom have been (and remain to be) at different stages of their own personal journey to sobriety or controlled drinking, depending on what it is that they want to achieve.

We have those who drink daily, those who drink occasionally, and also those who have been sober for some time. The one thing that you won't find here, is any judgey knickers! We're ALL here because at one point or another, we've hit our own "rock bottom" and then smashed the shit out of the FUCK IT button! (makes a note to order a new FUCK IT button)

This is without doubt one of the hardest times of the year for many of us, what with Christmas parties, alcohol on tap, supermarkets who have offers galore of various tipples stacked from floor to ceiling, and EVERY advert on TV shows you what an amazingly cool person you can be if you were drinking whatever brand of alcohol they're flogging! Even Christmas puddings and Brandy creams are tempting fate because as soon as you digest even a small amount of alcohol, it makes your body crave more, just like smoking, medication and recreational drugs................

Then there's the gifts that you're given! Champagne Truffles, Liquors, wines, spirits, you name it! So unless you've told people about your planned journey, people assume that buying gifts like that completely acceptable. So, some may feel obliged to consume such gifts and why not? It's Christmas after all. Then we have the New Year festivities..... parties, friends and family over to have drinks because you'll stop drinking after New Years' Day won't you?

It's so damn hard not to drink if that's what you've been doing all year anyway before you even reach this time of year!! How will you cope with your Great Aunt who will check for dust by running finger over ever surface, or Uncle knobhead who will be there in his cream suit, with that suspicious stain on it and his burgundy shirt asking for a Babycham! Also, let's not forget the in-laws/out-laws! We can sometimes put so much pressure on ourselves that we convince ourselves that we DESERVE that glass or seven of wine etc.

At the end of the day, if you want to drink, then you will. I appreciate that doesn't sound supportive but it's certainly true in my case. As I have said before, the most amazing thing about this Bus and those who travel along with it, is the fact that every single one on board has a story, a reason why they're here, and we all need support in one form or another. Yes, alcohol may be the one thing that we ALL have in common but it goes way deeper than that doesn't it? Life, love and laundry for a start!

Even if you're not ready to stop or cut down on your drinking yet, that's fine! You're still welcome to hop aboard the marvellous Gerald. We're a very varied bunch of Babes but we welcome anyone in need of support, even if you're not ready to say everything that you want to yet, or you feel the need to name change, that's fine! Just know that we're here for YOU for as long as you need to be.

Mouse xxx

THIS IS THE PREVIOUS THREAD IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CATCH UP FROM WHERE WE LEFT OFF

Isn’t it interesting, Lux? I think I had that strange awareness too, that part of my consciousness had stopped being alert to alcohol - when I can get a drink, how much etc. How are you doing with sitting with the weirdness?

craft just kind of accepting it I think. It’s been a very tough couple of years and things are better now, maybe I just don’t need to blur the edges of life right now.

I quit wine for ages but still had a few beers here and there or a couple of gins at home which I was ok with, crept up during the toughest time but suddenly it’s like flicking a switch, nobody is more surprised than me. I’m not sure if I’ll have a drink on my next night out, , maybe, maybe not, I’ve done lunches without easily enough, evenings seem different.

Morning babes, Day 20 for me and today I will not drink. I have been to 3 AA meetings over the last 8 days and they are really helping me. The support in the room is amazing.

Beautiful sunny morning here

Hi, Obrigada well done!

Lux that sounds amazingly liberating.

I would like to join the bus please.

Hi agath and welcome. There's a nice comfy seat here anytime you want it.

You can rant and rave, or just sit quietly taking in the scenery, whatever serves you best.

Do you want to tell us a bit about you? What are your triggers, do you you know what you're aiming for, or are you just shouting out in desperation. All equally welcome.

Thanks a million venusandmars. Just going through a lot of stress, work related and want to stop turning to the wine as a means of 'coping'. I want to drink only on social occasions and completely cut out drinking at home. I've done it before. Weight loss is another goal.

Welcome Agath123 you sound similar to me, the booze does creep up doesn’t it ?

It is liberating Crafty. It’s very strange, I’m listening to the radio and being Saturday evening lots of people are calling in about going for cocktails or dinner tonight and the wine they’re looking forward to, I’m just sitting here enjoying the music and thinking ‘ooh, sounds nice about the party/dinner/pub’ but I fancy a cup of tea myself.

Oh shit,

Have I got old? 😂😂

Possibly it is age, Lux Let’s say wisdom? It’s peaceful to go beyond the ‘need’ to do or be certain things, isn’t it?

Thanks LuxuryWoman, much appreciated. I'm going to read the thread properly tonight. I just saw at a glance, someone mentioned hitting the wine witch over the head. Great image. That is what I plan to do too.

checking in - very quiet on here
welcome agath how are you feeling today?
i've had a good weekend. spent some time alone at the beach which always recharges me, and then DD1 and I started making a pond in the garden. We already had a "puddle", which although tiny attracted birds and insect and...we found out when we cleared it ... a rather sleepy frog!
We are determined to turn our wild garden into a wildlife sanctuary so been busy with that. Nice to spens some time with DD1. We aren't close, she has MH problems so we mostly worked in silence but were at least working on the same thing and making the occasional short conversation about where things should go etc.It's been good.

Sounds lovely, ma. Nature can be very healing.

So, if someone could just give my sorry arse a kick, that would be good. I am feeling bloody sorry for myself and in a real ‘what’s the point?’ state where I can see the appeal of numbing the miserable feelings with wine. We have no actual wine in the house fortunately. As I say, I just need a bit of a boot up the bum as I’ve little to complain about, just a bunch of regrets that can’t now be fixed. Hey ho!

Hi everyone.

ma pond sounds lovely. We have a drained pond in our garden- tempted to fill it again now kids are old enough- although the dogs love water so I might be asking for trouble!

I’m doing well with alcohol- 1 evening drinking in 6 weeks and it was planned and I had a few but didn’t get drunk. Like Luxthink I’ve found a sweet spot in my drinking and that is mostly sober.

Welcome Aga sorry to hear of your stress, as tempting as it is to numb feelings, alcohol will only make things worse.

I’ve no plans to go out or drink over the bank holiday and planning on quiet relaxing few days .

Hey crafty here's a kick

Did that help? Maybe not, but at least you know we're listening to you Regrets.... it is so easy to spend the majority of our time with our thoughts in the past re-writing or re-imagining events and conversations OR with our thoughts in the future rehearsing conversations we might never have and worrying about events that may never happen. Take a leaf out of ma's book, and spend time guddling in a muddy pond, being in the now, noticing the tweet of birds, the sunshine on a spring green leaf, the buzz of an insect. Now where have those worries gone?

Where is everyone?
EFc you are doing really well. I'm not.

Thanks for the kick, Venus . You are right, of course. I’m a big believer in getting outside and just ‘being’. My regrets are of the ‘roads not taken and now too late’ variety, but I am very grateful for all the good stuff too.

Still here Ma, Day 25 for me today (yes I am still counting).

My priority today is to not take a sip of alcohol as the road it will take me down is not pretty anymore.

You are going great guns,Obrigada. (Still counting too).

obrigado well done great numbers of sober days.

crafty I’m awful for what ifs but I’m slowly coming to accept I am where I am and I have a lot to be grateful for.

ma thank you.

well donesober folks. I'm very lapsed and in the sidecar. Haven't even been running, after all my hard work.
why i hit this self destruct button I have no idea!

Hello you wonderful lot.
This lovely weather is bringing the gin temptation back. I can almost taste it. Goddamn this sun!
I think the wedding prep is always bringing home how much I miss my mum so drowning my sorrows in a bottle would be quite tempting. But...I've been AF for 16 months now and I aim to keep it that way!

‘Waves’. It’s the DWW that beckons to me....and yes, thought I was just about on the other side of missing the stuff! How are the wedding plans going, Mint?

It’s more the ‘why the hell didn’t I get on with it’?s’ for me efc Feel like I wasted a lot of my younger days by totally failing to mis-spend any of them.

That’s a rueful

@Craftycorvid wedding plans on point! I've found gas powered tongs and a USB hairdryer! Just need to get dress altered thanks to losing a stone on the dukan diet .

mint that is amazing! I hope that you're not expecting me to have a tonged and curled hairdo... I was thinking more along the lines of windswept and wild to match my hiking boots, cagoul, scarf and hat. (well it is June in Scotland!)

Hope everyone is having a good Easter weekend. Where I live there are multiple boozy barbeques on the beach. I'm ignoring, ignoring. At least I won't be hungover and squinting at the sunshine in the morning.