My dad used to walk out front to get the mail each afternoon. I would be in the living room, and I’d hear the heavy front door slam behind him. I knew where he was really going. Once, I followed him out there. I saw him walk toward the sidewalk and head in the opposite…
Check On Your Sober Friends
Sometimes it feels like the world is at odds with sober people. Actually, most of the time. And right now, in the midst of a pandemic, now feels like everything and everyone is against us. I mean, the CORONA virus? AYFKM? But now is not that time. We can get through this sober.
The First Week After You Quit Drinking
What made my first week exponentially harder was my decision to do this on my own. Only two people knew my plans to quit drinking, and I kept this decision from everyone else. Instead of getting support and love, people were unknowingly testing me with every offer to get me a drink (it was the week of Christmas to make matters even harder), with holding their wine glass close enough that I could practically smell the tanins, and with asking why I wasn’t drinking.
We Are Built to Do Hard Things
This has been one of the hardest years of my life. Between my dad‘s passing and most recently my son getting kicked out of kindergarten, I felt myself spinning down and down an emotional whirlpool like the last remaining water as the tub empties. Wondering if I will drown. Wondering if I care if I will drown.
Why Mommy Drinking Culture Has to Go
I remember, with eerie clarity, the last night I drank. My ex-husband and I were meeting another couple at Union Restaurant on Ossington in Toronto. I was so fixated on getting the server’s attention to order more wine that I could barely focus on the conversation in front of me. I smiled and nodded like I was listening, but I was completely preoccupied with filling my glass.
Being a sober mom in the middle of a wine mom culture is isolating
My first piece for the Washington Post is up!
Alcohol is the Only Drug we have to Explain Not Using
I read a meme yesterday that said “I determine my kids play dates by which mom I want to drink wine with.”
Being alcohol free can truly feel ostracizing. And it’s strange to think that alcohol is the only drug that we have to explain NOT using.
Time to change the narrative. Alcohol free is a choice that should not require an explanation, embarrassment or fear of condemnation.
My ((CLAP)) First ((CLAP)) Podcast
I AM ON A PODCAST. This is not a drill! Catch me on The Joy of Being podcast where I talk about Mommy Wine Culture, the mental load of motherhood, and why I decided to get sober in 2018.