That’s a wrap

Heading into Christmas is a tricky time to be sober, especially when it’s your first one. I had two Christmas lunches this week to navigate and I had been feeling quite nervous about dealing with them. 

The Board of the organisation I work for don’t know me well and I like to keep it that way. It wasn’t a group with which I’m prepared to share something so personal. 

At the Board and Executive lunch I asked the waiter to pour me a half glass of red wine and didn’t touch it, even for the toast. It meant I could avoid anyone asking me why I wasn’t drinking.

Interestingly I noticed the retired surgeon next to me wasn’t drinking and a few others only had one or two glasses. But no one noticed I wasn’t and if they did no one said anything. That solved that lunch easily.

But I still had one to get through and this was going to be more difficult.

The next day was the Executive lunch. We’re a tighter knit bunch and know each other well. I decided to get it out of the way early by explaining I wasn’t drinking and why. I sort of had to. The difference with this lunch was the company will pay for the meal but not the alcohol, so whoever was drinking was going to split the alcohol bill. So right up front the question was asked, who’s drinking?

And surprisingly four of us weren’t. One who never does, one who doesn’t drink wine and only drinks spirits and therefore doesn’t drink at lunchtime, one who is managing an iron deficiency and me. 

No one gave me a grilling and no one was disrespectful about my decision.

It was such a relief. I’d been worrying about nothing.

And that’s a wrap for the year, no more work functions to worry about - from here it’s five weeks of camping across three states with my family and no pressure, none at all.