Friday nights in the winter are perfect evenings for building a fire, pouring a nice cocktail and making dinner at home. Scott (my husband) and I can stretch a meal out for the whole evening. Martinis and appetizers, wine with dinner, and finally cordials. Last night, however, we learned that we couldn’t linger over Pellegrino in the same way. We cooked, we ate, we cleaned up…done, by 8:00.
So we decided to play a game. One that Scott just happened to pick up the day before. The game was called Yoomi and the object was to be the first player to get rid of all your tokens. Each player takes turns selecting between two activities, for example play the piano or play the guitar. The player selects based on their interests. The other players have to guess which one is the right choice by placing their tokens on top of this mechanical game piece that turns and deposits the winners token into the “bank” below.
Seemed simple enough, so we dragged the boys away from their computers to play this ultra-fun family game. We sat around the table, each placing our tokens on the activity we thought dad would choose and….nothing. For some reason our game did not work. The tokens did not drop into the “bank”.
After several attempts to trouble shoot, my husband called the game a few choice words, and tossed it out. And almost simultaneously the four of us said, “this might have made a fun drinking game.”
What is it about alcohol that makes everything better? In college, we could turn anything into a drinking game. Even a sitcom. I remember gathering around the TV to watch Bob Newhart. Every time anyone said the name Bob, we drank. My boys, now in college themselves, turned a hatchet into a drinking game. Let’s consider that thought process…
“What do you guys want to do tonight?”
“I don’t know.”
“Movies?”
“No.”
“Mall?”
“No.”
“Hey, I have a hatchet. Let’s toss it back and forth, whoever drops it, or slices their finger off, drinks.”
“Perfect…let’s go get a 30-pack.”
And who knew ping pong could be so fun. But I have faith. Faith that fun can be had sans alcohol and I’m determined to find it. In fact, I must because my whole social life hangs in the balance. If I fail, these cold winter nights are going to get a lot colder…
Scrabble, anyone?
I totally hear you on this...sorry the game didn't work...I love scrabble...I think it's awesome that you are giving yourself this time to search without adding alcohol into the mix...it would be difficult because like you said it's so easy to have fun with it and it just becomes a part of your life...since it is cold out we are inside again today...everyone is a little stir crazy...I've had it with messes, noise and watching "kid" movies...so now while they are off making a mess in another part of the house, I am drinking a glass of wine and watching football...we all have our days...lol...I would love to play scrabble!
ReplyDeleteDeb
ReplyDeleteWhat is the draw of booze? It makes me tired, fat, lazy and sometimes moody. After 20+ years of marriage, my husband and I can both benefit from a little drink prior to "date night" but the benefits are short lived and outweighed by the headaches..etc. etc.
Is it fair to assume that you are bored and that drinking makes you more numb to the dullness of everyday life? If so, you should consider AA or something like it. If you don't turn things around with proven techniques that work, I fear you are ripe for a relapse and will be back to square one. That said, I don't think you have a "drinking issue" based on your consumption, but I do believe their is something wrong based on the fact that you blog solely about it. Hmmm, is their something you are not sharing?
To ctlogowear... No, my consumption levels are not that high. In fact, most of the people in my circle don't understand why I feel the need to give up alcohol at all. This is a personal choice. Unlike you, I like to drink. Its fun and social, but because I drink, I believe I am not pursuing other interests. Hence, my choice to stop. Just forcing myself out of my comfort zone a bit. I'm not interested in AA. I have set my mind to this, and when I do that, I am surprisingly stubborn. I blog about this the most because after two weeks its still mostly on my mind, perhaps my journey will lead me away from talking solely about drinking. Stay tuned!
ReplyDeleteAnd to Lori...a game of scrabble sounds great!