Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from America or anyone else celebrating this holiday. I hope you all stay strong and sober. I know holidays are supposed to be hard and set off many relapse triggers. Pack your sobriety tools if you are going somewhere. Maybe it is a good time to tell family and friends that you quit drinking. Be grateful for how far you have come!

Last year, I was sober for Thanksgiving. I did not give up drinking entirely yet. I was on a “no alcohol” break that started in October and was going until New Year’s Eve. I did not make the goal and got drunk December 29. I look back at how weak I was then and compare it to how strong I feel now.

I spent last year with a friend’s family. They all kept pressuring me to drink. They kept saying the wine was very good and expensive. The champagne was leftover from their wedding. They criticized me for taking a drinking break during the holidays. I remember being irritated by their persuasions.

Now, I think of all the times I tried coercing friends to drink or drink more. I would beg people to keep drinking and nag them when they reached their limit. I am so sorry for all those times. But remembering helps keep me grateful for what I now have.

I cheated on the holiday temptations by avoiding them. I slept all day and then worked the holiday night. Made it easy to keep sober.

I see a lot of people posting on FB that they are thankful for friends and family and many other things. I am thankful for those but mostly thankful for my sobriety. And I hope I can say the same next year. And the next year. Everyday that I go to sleep sober again is like another thanksgiving celebration for me.