Cheater Cheater Pumpkin...

That’s right, I cheated. I made it through 11 days of Sober October, and then on October 12th at approximately 8:30 PM I took my first sip of an ice-cold beer.

I absolutely HATE that I couldn’t make it through 31 days without consuming any alcohol, but this journal is meant to keep a factual account of my year and that means I have to be real with you and with myself.

October 12th was the night of my neighborhood’s annual House Hop – which is an adult-only event where all of the neighbors get together. They play drinking games, “hopping” from house to house.

I’ve only lived in my current neighborhood for 1.5 years now and this was my first House Hop. I was fully confident that I could make it through the entire night without drinking.

I didn’t even make it through the first house stop before having a beer during my turn of the drinking game.

I’d like to blame my cheating on the peer pressure I felt from my friends and neighbors, but the truth is that I was weak and gave into my social anxiety – using the alcohol as a sort of crutch.

I immediately felt guilty for cheating on my pledge and so for the rest of the evening I filled my koozie with cans of seltzer water. Just because I didn’t become intoxicated and stopped after my one beer, doesn’t mean I didn’t cheat.

I’m human and I failed, but on October 13th I went right back to fully participating in Sober October and in order to help right my wrong, I’m going to stay sober until November 12th.