Sober October is approaching and I sat down to write about all the amazazing benefits of not drinking (in order to entice anyone on the fence about participating) and there are so many. I was having a little trouble figuring out where to start. Getting great sleep, knowing where your keys are and saving loads of money are all good and maybe obvious benefits but there has been one shift that I did not expect that I wanted to share. In my sobriety I have come to really love being single. I was thinking about it last night before I went to bed and I was dancing about it when I woke up this morning. I just love it! This has been a nearly miraculous turn of events. I went out drinking mostly because I did not want to be alone and as the song goes I was looking for love in all the wrong places. I believe I knew that at the time but I would never had said it. I was lonely, 100%. I thought things would change, that I would change when I met the right person. The story in my head was that me and this perfect partner would bump into each other at a bar, commiserate over a few rounds, realize we were not only made for each other but that we were made for more. We would probably forget to pay our tab as we walked out hand in hand. Setting off into the sunset (er.. sunrise?) to collectively get our shit together. Dreamy, right? *Cringe* I was looking for “the one” in all the local dives when little did I know I would have found her sooner if I had just gone home. I am grateful to be here now, taking up the whole bed, being my very own ride or die, hangover free, healthier, wealthier and happier than I have ever been. Enthusiastically single might just be my favorite sobriety side effect. More on this to come. During Sober October we are going to be talking about all the ways not drinking can make you fall in love with yourself in new and profound ways.

Day 246: Hash and a poached egg. Sweet potatoes, purple cabbage, green onions, garlic, apple and… bacon! This is the first time I have eaten bacon since I started my 365 days of breakfast project. Not that I don’t like it but it just isn’t something I think of that often honestly. T’was good though! I opted for a sugarless bacon because well, I am sweet enough.