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Ordering two beers in the morning

We recently caught a plane at 6 a.m. when we visited Cody, Naz and Charlie in Vancouver. Soon after we were in the air, the guy next to me ordered two beers from the flight attendant ... at 6:30 in the morning. Whoa!
And to boot, it was National Addictions Awareness Week. Eschia-take it easy, eh!
This reminded me of a long time ago when I was in an Ottawa airport bar waiting for my flight. I had already checked in and I was having a good time. I noticed it was five minutes before takeoff so I ran to the gate.
"Sorry sir, the doors of the plane are already closed," I was told.
Say what? It couldn’t be. How could they just leave me behind? Oh well, back to the bar until closing time. I slept on an airport couch until I caught a plane at around 6:30 a.m. feeling foolish and very hungover.
As soon as the plane took off, I called the flight attendant over and ordered two drinks. Sound familiar? Yeah, exactly like the guy who sat next to me two weeks ago. So, who am I to judge him, right?
So do you think that taught me a lesson and caused me to quit drinking? Nope. And did I quit drinking when I lost my job for missing work due to drinking? Nope.
One time I was at a meeting on a Thursday and it ended around 5 p.m. Two guys said "let’s go for a drink," and I happily agreed. After two drinks, the other two guys said it was time to go home. I said I would stay for one more. Yeah, right.
I was still there at closing time, and then I found a party to go to. The next day I didn’t go to work and drank all day. That night I saw the same two guys at the bar. They had come back for a few more beers and I was still drinking from the night before.
If that sounds familiar, then you have a drinking problem, just like I did. In fact, I was an alcoholic. Today, by the grace of God, I am a recovering alcoholic and I have not had a drop of alcohol since 1985. No more hangovers
So, how did I quit drinking? Well, I put myself into a rehabilitation center. Some people call it going to 'treatment' or going to 'rehab.'
Basically, it’s going to a center for 28 days or longer where you take programs and are away from booze. Well ya.
That’s why I went. I had an opportunity to be away from booze for a month and that allowed me to heal spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally for a month before having to face the music.
You can talk to an addictions counsellor who will help you choose what’s best for you. For instance, there are a few Aboriginal centers, which most Aboriginal people want to go to. The best centers have a good nutrition program and workout facilities. Yay.
Some treatment centers make you stay sober for a couple of months before going, so they know you are serious. Others want you to be sober for a few weeks. Some do not allow you to smoke in their buildings or on their grounds.
Once there, make sure you go to all of the sessions, speak up and participate in activities and follow the rules. One guy I know continually missed sessions and wouldn’t stop smoking. He was asked to leave because he was not serious. Not cool.
For a year after I got out of treatment, I stayed away from my drinking buddies and places where there was alcohol. Why? Because the counselors at the treatment center told me to do that so I wouldn’t be tempted. I don’t know if the others in our group did this, but I was the only one who never drank again.
In fact, I know hundreds of people who came out of "rehab" and hung out with their friends and tried not to drink. Some stayed sober for a while but pretty well every single one of them started drinking again.
The other thing I did was to live one day at a time – again, because that was what the counselors told us to do. I got out of 'rehab' on Nov. 4 and I did not worry if I was going to drink at Christmas. Instead, I stayed sober one day at time.
When Christmas came, I told myself I wasn’t going to drink and I didn’t. Our minds are very powerful; if we tell ourselves we are going to drink, we will and if we tell ourselves we will not drink, we won’t. So be positive.
I also know many, many people who tried to quit drinking on their own. Most of them failed.
And, that’s why I recommend going to a treatment center if you’re starting to think that it’s not cool to order two beers at 6:30 in the morning after you just woke up.