Decition points-quitting

Quiting

It was a simple question. "Can you remember the last day you did not have a drink ?" Laura asked in her calm, soothing voice. she was not threatening or nagging (nagging ). she did has CT an answer. my wife is the kind of person who picks her moments. this was one of them.

"Of course I can", came my indignant (angry; angry) response. then I though back over the previous week. I wowould have a few beers with the guys on Monday night. on Tuesday I 'd fixed myself my favorite after-dinner drink. I wowould have a couple of bourbon and sevens after I put Barbara and Jenna to bed on Wednesday. thursday and Friday were beer-drinking night. on Saturday, Laura and I had gone out with friends. I wocould have martinis before dinner, beers with dinner. I had failed week one.

I went on racking (Torture) my memory for a single dry day over the past few weeks; then the past month; then longer. I cocould remember one. Drinking had become a habit.

I haveHabitual(Used; used) personality. I smoked cigarettes for about nine years, starting in college. I quit smoking by dipping snuff. I quit that by chewing long-leaf tobacco. eventually I got down to cigars.

For a while I triedRationalize (vtRationalize; make excuses)My drinking habit. I was nowhere near as bad as some of the drunks I knew in our hometown of Midland, Texas. I did not drink during the day or at work. I was in good shape and jogged (JOG VT jogging) almost every afternoon, another habit

Over time I realized I was running not only to stay fit, but alsoPurge(Cleaning)My system of the sort ONS (poison). Laura's little question provoked some big ones of my own. Did I want to spend time at home with our girls or stay out drinking? Wowould I rather read in bed with Laura or drink bourbon by myself after the family bad gone to sleep? Cocould I continue to grow closer to the Almighty, or was alcohol becoming my God? I knew the answer, but I was hardSummon(Summon; cheer)The will to make a change.

In 1986, Laura and I both turned forty. so did our close friends Don and Susie Evans. we decided to hold a joint celebration at the broad-Moor resort in colorado spring. we invited our childhood friends Joe and Jan O 'Neill, my brother Neil and another Midland friend, Penny Sawyer.

the official birthday dinner was Saturday night. we had a big meal, accompanied by numerous sixty-dollar bottles of silver oak wine. there are lots of toasts-to our health, to our kids, to the babysitters who were watching the kids back home. we got louder and louder, telling the same stories over and over. at one point Don and I decided we were so cute (cute, pretty) We shocould take our routine (routine; routine) from table to table. we shut the place down, paid a colossal (huge; abnormal; very) bar tab, and went to bad.

I awke the next morning with a mean hangover (sleep drunk; residue ). as I left for my daily jog, I cocould not remember much of the night before. about halfway through the run my head started to clear. the crosscurrents in my life came into focus. for months I had been praying that God wocould show me how to better reflect his will. my scripture (Bible) readings had clarified the nature of temptation (temptation; temptation) and the reality that the love of earthly pleasures cocould Replace the love of God, my problem was not only drinking; it was selfishness. the booze (wine; banquet) was leading me to put myself ahead of others, especially my family. I love Laura and the girls too much to let that happen. faith showed me a way out. I knew I cocould count on the grace of God to help me change. it wocould not be easy, but by the end of the run, I had made up my mind: I was done drinking.

When I got back to the hotel room, I told Laura I wowould never have another drink. she looked at me like I was still running on alcohol fumes. then she said "That's good Geoge ".

I knew what she was thinking. I had talked about quiting before and nothing had come of it. what she did not know was that this time I had changed on the inside-and that wocould enable me to change my behavior forever.

It took about five days for the freshness of the demo-to wear off. as my memory of the hangover faded, the temptation to drink became intense [strong; tense; very; enthusiastic ]. my body craved [desire; BEG] alcohol. I prayed for the strength to fight off my desires. I ran harder and longer as a way to discipline myself. I aslo ate a lot of chocolate. my body was screaming for sugar. chocolate was an easy way to feed it. this also gave me another motivation for running: to keep the pounds [pound; weight] Off.

Laura was very supportive. she sensed that I really was going to quit. whenever I brought up the subjuect, she urged me to stay with it. sometimes I talked about drinking again just to hear her encouraging workds.

My friends helped, too, even though most of them did not stop drinking when I was around. AF first it was hard to watch other people enjoy a cocktail or a beer. but being the sober guy helped my realize how mindless I must have sounded when I drank. the more time passed, the more I felt momentum [momentum] on my side. not drinking became a habit of its own-one I was gglad to keep.

Quitting drinking was one of the toughest decisionds I have ever made. without it, none of the others that follow in this book wowould have been possible. yet, without the experiences of my first forty years, quitting drinking wocould not have been possible either. so much of my character [character; Quality], so much of my convictions [Be sure; prove guilty], took shape during those first four decades. my journey shortded challenges, struggles, and failures. it is testimony [testimony; evidence] to the strength of love, the power of faith, and the truth that people can change. on top of that, it was one interesting ride.

 

 

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