One of the great things about not drinking is that it takes the pressure off friends who also do not want to drink.
Oh dear, I have just realised that in the past I have probably put some subtle pressures on some friends, who might not have drunk if I wasn’t exuberantly and enthusiastically doing so. Oh dear, oh guilt… oh get over it, we have all been adults for a long time now, and responsible for ourselves.
Nonetheless…..
I met some old school friends today. The two of them had not seen each other since high school… some time ago now. All nattering away together was as easy now as it was then. One pal has an unusal cancer, sarcoma which I do not know much about, but she says it is not going to go away.
She’s a girl who has put everyone else first for all of her life, but is changing slowly now to look after herself as her priority. She asked me what I would have to drink and I said the mocktail was for you. Me too, she said, snapping shut the wine list. We had Amaretto Sours make with Lyre’s Amaretta and they were delicous.
Part of her self care strategy is not to drink alcohol. The hospital courses she takes have suggested that, and upping the vegetarian foods too. We all ate salmon, spinach and peach salads… and we talked and talked and laughed and all felt weepy, all with views of the Harbour Bridge.
