This year I’ve inadvertently decided to give Dry January a try. It wasn’t my intention and in all honesty it will be a Dry”ish” January as we started our New Year off by having mimosas with brunch as has been our tradition for several years. But then, on January 2 I drove to Kentucky to see my mom and don’t typically drink when there. When I came home it was a work weekend and it’s not my habit to drink on days before I work the following day and heck, by then, I’m 25% of the way through Dry January so why not give it a good old college try!
According to Wikipedia, Dry January began in 2013 in the United Kingdom as a campaign delivered by Alcohol Change UK where people sign up to abstain from alcohol for the month of January. In its first year approximately 4,000 people participated and it’s grown in popularity today with over 130,000 signing up to take part in 2023. I first heard of Dry January last year on Facebook and that’s probably because it first launched in the US in 2023. Of course, I DID NOT participate in Dry January last year—last year got off to a real rocky start for reasons we may discuss later and didn’t really start looking up until May or June although my trip to the beach with my sister in April was the beginning of the upswing.
But let’s get back to this year. Do I drink? Yes, I do. I enjoy a good cocktail. Relaxing in the evening with the husband and the dogs, going out to dinner and having a few pre-dinner cocktails, watching the football game and cheering on the team while enjoying a few alcoholic beverages. Do I NEED to drink or HAVE to drink. No. I can do without. But we’re going to put that to the test with Dry”ish” January. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t added the “ish” to my Dry January as an “out” that will allow me to cheat. I’m simply being honest. I started the New Year by imbibing on New Year’s Day and therefore my January won’t be totally dry.
In reading about the origins of Dry January on Wikipedia it seems the guy who originally had the idea was able to lose a few pounds and save a few bucks by abstaining from alcohol during the month of January. Since these are two of my goals for 2024 this is just one more reason for participating. Plus, like I said, I’m a quarter of the way there already just by accident so why not?
I’ll keep you posted. I’m sure there are going to be days when I REALLY WANT TO HAVE A DRINK…..but I’m committed now to seeing this through and once I make up my mind to do something stubbornness takes over. Part of me hates participating in this as I see it as another social media fad to jump on much like the Stanley cup craze. And no I haven’t bought one, at least not yet. I’m the trendsetter that generally tends to jump on the trend about a decade after it starts going out of style. But like I said, this year the planets just seemed to align in the right order at the right time so Dry”ish” January it is.
One response to “Stumbling Into Dry January”
It was pretty dry from 1989-2008. I would really only ever have champagne at weddings, and that’s it. But then when Dad died, Jim made me a cocktail, and now I’m all in! LOL . I know for some people, dry January is a big thing and they notice a difference. I’m interested to see what happens for you.