As of right now, it’s been nine days and six hours since I’ve consumed an alcoholic beverage. Which is the longest I’ve gone without a drink in at least a year. I don’t know if I’m an alcoholic, but the pandemic definitely changed the way I drank. More after-work drinks, whether at home while social distancing, or when we were forced to go back to the office. Because I’ve basically pickled myself, and have gotten into some bad habits, I made the difficult decision to abstain for the foreseeable future. And boy, did I pick a bad time to do this. You see, the holidays always make me want to drink. I make a bangin’ coquito, delicious seasonal cocktails, and love to guzzle gallons of wine at my family’s ridiculously expansive holiday dinners. 

Thinking about dealing with my family sans booze is tough, but I’m determined to prove that I’m tougher. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not sitting here with FOMO as I see my friends on Instagram hitting the egg nog. These memes are for the lucky folks who can control, or don’t care about controlling their liquor intake. We salute you.