Its nice to see a balanced article on this topic! I too have cut back but I still very much enjoy moderate drinking. Its definitely more about quality over quantity.
I hate it when my mum was right - moderation is key!! It's funny - my middle daughter is 18 and took a bottle of wine to a party - the cheapest one she could find. i'm no connosseur but I wouldn't waste the experience now unless I knew I'd really like it!
Reading my journals from a few years back, about the time I was quitting my job and deep into my "reinvention," I am stunned by how much and how prominently alcohol (white wine and Vermont IPAs) plays a role in my story. Worse during the pandemic. It's only recently (when I wanted to lose weight for my son's wedding last fall) that I began a reckoning that has also landed me in a "damp" place. 2-4 drinks a week instead of every day, but I wonder .... How the habit became so deeply embedded by a lifestyle, personality, brand we've been sold. Even Chat GPT suggested I reward myself with a glass of wine!! Was that because I am a middle-aged woman, a wine mom or whatever the trope? Great conversation for us to be having Alana! Thanks for sharing your story.
Thanks Catherine... I'm exactly the same. I never questioned it. A bottle of wine on a Friday night was literally just an automatic response to end of week. I chose 'damp' because I didn't love either side of the midlife women memes.... the wino mums or the 'never let a crisp (chip) or wine pass my lips, i only eat kale' brigade. So I found my happy medium but the most important part was the trying to be really conscious and intentional about it. Here's to damp drinking!
Its nice to see a balanced article on this topic! I too have cut back but I still very much enjoy moderate drinking. Its definitely more about quality over quantity.
I hate it when my mum was right - moderation is key!! It's funny - my middle daughter is 18 and took a bottle of wine to a party - the cheapest one she could find. i'm no connosseur but I wouldn't waste the experience now unless I knew I'd really like it!
Reading my journals from a few years back, about the time I was quitting my job and deep into my "reinvention," I am stunned by how much and how prominently alcohol (white wine and Vermont IPAs) plays a role in my story. Worse during the pandemic. It's only recently (when I wanted to lose weight for my son's wedding last fall) that I began a reckoning that has also landed me in a "damp" place. 2-4 drinks a week instead of every day, but I wonder .... How the habit became so deeply embedded by a lifestyle, personality, brand we've been sold. Even Chat GPT suggested I reward myself with a glass of wine!! Was that because I am a middle-aged woman, a wine mom or whatever the trope? Great conversation for us to be having Alana! Thanks for sharing your story.
Thanks Catherine... I'm exactly the same. I never questioned it. A bottle of wine on a Friday night was literally just an automatic response to end of week. I chose 'damp' because I didn't love either side of the midlife women memes.... the wino mums or the 'never let a crisp (chip) or wine pass my lips, i only eat kale' brigade. So I found my happy medium but the most important part was the trying to be really conscious and intentional about it. Here's to damp drinking!