Making Strides - a sobering thought

We had a party at our place on New Year's Eve. Around 25 friends, eager to ring in the New Year, and with them enough winter coats to collapse our coat rack, taking a large chunk of the wall with it.

It was all highly festive, finishing in the late-early hours and leaving a lot of restoration to be dealt with the next day. Which didn't happen. Instead, we ordered pizza and watched romantic comedies, and finished off an open bottle of red wine. In this way, I consider January 1st to be a freebie; a hangover of 2010. (I mean this mostly literally.)

As of January 2nd, the remaining alcohol in our house has been put up on dry shelves and out of harms way, as we begin yet another month of sobriety. You may remember past attempts to do this caused much hand wringing and self pity, but this time I'm actually looking forward to it.

In the spirit of 2011's theme of 'Making Strides', I look forward to diving into the new year with some self-imposed clarity, and with fewer diversionary tactics.

I love wine. Good wine in particular, though it's not essential. There's nothing quite like the ritual of a glass of wine at the end of the day. But it's also a great way to let yourself off the hook. If a week becomes a bit hard, or if life's obstacles are piling too high, it's a great way to ceremoniously retreat from battle. And this year is all about leaping into the breach, not just once more, but with gusto. And about getting hooks back up on the wall. At least before the next party.