Dry January 2021: halfway check-in

Kombucha, in a coup.

And just like that, it was midnight on Friday, January 1st and the world rang in 2021.

For the occasion, I donned a fresh pair of leggings+sweatshirt from the stack I accumulated during 2020 and stayed up until the clock struck 12. I video chatted with my friends and snapped party crackers filled with confetti and paper crowns. Several hours later, I changed into a different set of leggings+sweatshirt and hopped on the bike for a quick spin before writing my three goals for January: 

• Cardio + lift every day 

• Post on the blog every week

• Dry January 

Cardio + lift every day : I’m someone who needs a routine, especially when I’m working towards a goal. And that means moving my body every day, even if it’s only for 10 minutes.

Post on the blog every week: This very post is one that is coming sooo close to my weekly Sunday night deadline, but I’m making it happen. And what a perfect time to dial into my goals, because…

...it’s Dry January. Some people will know what I’m talking about: it’s the most popular time of the year to give up alcohol for 31 days. I’ve done it before and for longer, and my body and mind needed it now more than ever.

2020 was a lot for everyone. The last year tested my resilience, my patience and my capacity to look beyond my own needs. And I came up extremely wanting. I’m still processing it both internally and externally, but I didn’t want to start this new year by drinking to forget everything I wish I could erase from the past year. 

Don’t get me wrong: I love drinking. I love finding an unexpected note of spice or grass or clay in a beautiful glass of wine. I love exploring a new restaurant by sitting alone at the bar with their cocktail list. I love sabering champagne bottles and pouring out those sparkling stars to toast whatever occasion we’re claiming to be celebrating. 

But drinking doesn’t always love me back. I may have had more great times with bottles than bad times, but it’s worth checking-in every once in a while. 

Even within 2020, there were times when I found such joy: growing and maintaining my own sourdough Mother, learning my first trick on a skateboard, finally finishing that 900 page novel, finding the space to take time for myself and give to those who needed it more, and many more. 

And the way I’m giving something back is to check-in this month, not because it’s trendy or because I want to shed some weight, but because it’s often far too easy to forget how and why we do something, especially when it can become a pattern or cycle. Overindulging in alcohol, picking fights, not making the bed in the morning, letting that old friend’s call rollover to voicemail yet again...these are patterns that we can change by shifting just a little bit at a time. 

This is not my announcement or move towards becoming intentionally sober or sober curious, but it is a time for me to focus on the space I can free up by asking myself ‘why’ instead of settling for, ‘because it just is’. 

Here’s to January 2021 with more questions and intentional answers, FoodFam!

Cheers,

Meredythe

FoodFam: I posted a Roundup of my favorite tools for Dry January for those who are interested in drinking festive, zero proof beverages. This is neither a definitive nor recommended resource for anyone who is in active recovery or who may be triggered by using the tools and products commonly associated with alcohol.

Sparkling water, because carbonated beverages make me feel like a tiny party is exploding in my mouth.