Inadvertently giving up drinking

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A post by @TheHorse made me want to write this. Last year my partner suddenly gave up drinking, completely out of the blue. Before this he was a keen drinker of beer – his parents used to buy him T-shirts with slogans like ‘Just add beer’ - enjoyed wine and would have a glass or two of various spirits when the mood took him. In the past (in his student life, before I knew him) he had apparently drunk what I would consider worrying amounts, and even recently he drank more than twice as much as me, although it wasn’t something I ever brought up. But his giving up has had a knock-on effect on me as well! Before, he would sometimes suggest a beer or glass of wine of a Friday evening. I would have one beer and he would have two or three. If we opened a bottle of wine I would have a large glass while we prepared and ate dinner and he would have the same – then he would finish off the rest while he cleared up afterwards. Sometimes this was a bit annoying as I would be thinking I’d have another glass the next night, only to find he’d finished it up! Now of course no-one suggests a drink any more. When he’s here I feel awkward having a drink when he isn’t having one, and if he’s away I feel awkward drinking on my own, like a secret alcoholic! If I open a bottle of wine and have one glass that’s a little treat, a glass the next night is quite nice too, but when I find I have to have a glass every night to finish the bottle it becomes a chore and not a treat any more. Now I only have a drink if we go out somewhere, preferably with other friends who are drinking. He claims he doesn’t miss beer at all but I confess I do miss having a nice glass of something now and then. Probably better for me but I am starting to feel like that joke you sometimes see – that giving up many of life’s pleasures may not make you live longer but it will certainly feel like it! And of course it’s another thing I can’t get him as a gift – and like for many men it’s hard to think of ideas! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2017.