I can safely have alcohol-free fruit cider now. That was a big discovery during the seventh year.
When I was first sober, I absolutely could not safely have alcohol-free fruit cider. Real cider was my drink of choice when still in active alcoholism, and in those early days, I found that drinking the AF stuff made me want the real stuff. As such, I avoided it like the plague for years. But I felt stable enough by this last year to have a few cautious sips of the AF version again, and now it feels like fruit juice. I’m really happy about that as it’s an option offered by a lot of pubs.
Geth doesn’t drink much these days either. He finds his health and running is much better as a result. It’s nice that we can be alcohol-free together and it makes life so much easier.
There are so many more AF drink options available now. It’s becoming less and less frequent that I have to settle for a Diet Coke.
I still have the nightmares about relapsing. Mind you, I still have them about cigarettes too, and I quit smoking in 2008. Maybe it’s just my subconscious’s way of keeping me alert and not taking anything for granted.