Today is Australia Day. Essentially the day that Australia was settled by Europeans. There is a lot of crazy history behind it that I am not going to go into because this isn’t the place, but basically we all get the day off, we sit around with friends and or family, drink, have a bbq and listen to the JJJ Hottest 100 on the radio. It is as close to a tradition as Australia gets really.

Given that George is going back to work tomorrow, I decided to be designated Dave for once and let George have the drinking fun. So I spaced 3 beers over the long afternoon and I was fine. I didn’t miss anything and I feel really good now. Today was a test for me for my own self-control. Usually I don’t have it around alcohol, so I am pretty proud of myself right now.

I do really need to start cutting back on the amount I have been drinking and today showed me that I can even in a social situation. It will be a positive step forward for both my physical and mental health and I think I am now actually ready to make this change. I won’t cut out drinking completely, but now I know I don’t have to drink to have fun, I think it will be easier to convince myself not to drink in other situations like trying to get to sleep or trying to relax after a tough day of work. Let’s see how I go with this!