Old Habits Die Abruptly

The pub is closed forever. The one that PDM has been going to for ten years. The one where he first took me to meet his friends back when we started dating. The same place that we've spent nearly every Friday night of our married life together.

There was no advance notice. In fact, the management shut it down in the middle of the evening shift on Monday night and kicked everyone out. A bartender texted a regular about what happened, and he sent a bunch of us an email to break the news on Tuesday. The pub is part of a small local chain. The management's official excuse for their decision is, get this, that they want the chain to be more "family friendly" and this particular location was next door to a strip club. I hate to break it to them, but it is a BAR. If it was full of kids, most of us would go somewhere else.

I am disappointed that it closed, and angry about the way it was handled -- pulling the rug out from under loyal employees and regular customers. There was no chance to say goodbye, no chance to get together and figure out where else to see each other, and no closure. I don't know even how to get in touch with some of the regulars that I will miss, because I don't know their last name (lots of folks are known by their first name, sometimes coupled with their sports affiliation or a nickname).

It hasn't completely sunk in yet. Last night was weird. We felt adrift... moping around at home when we should have been in our usual spot drinking our usual libations, trying to get on the trivia high score list, talking about tomorrow's games, and showing the bartenders the new pictures of Silvio. We ended up going to a place where it is more normal for us to spend Thursday evenings, but we were craving something at least partly familiar. Boomer did her best to cheer us up, and we did enjoy her company and the live music. But Friday night wasn't the same, and never will be.

One Week

Not too long ago, I had to give up alcohol for a week. It was a bummer because I enjoy drinking wine, but I was taking a prescription medication that didn't interact well with booze, and wished to avoid the scary interaction side effects. Yep. Like headaches, nausea, and "psychotic episodes". The hell? The first two didn't seem *that* bad, but I'm positive I don't need any psychotic episodes. So I sucked it up, and spent a week settling for alternatives. I didn't like it, but I did it.

This experience made me think. One week isn't such a long time. Maybe one week is the perfect trial run for making some changes in your life. Permanent changes are difficult to stick with, but you can grit your teeth and do just about anything for a week. I can think of a lot of small "one week challenges" that I could try on for size. Maybe some of the things will turn out to be not so bad. And some might seem intolerable. But I think maybe I will try one new thing per week and see how it sits with me. I might even stick with a few of them... but teetotaling will not be among them!

The 'challenge' could be to do something new, or to stop a bad habit. This week, I've been trying to go for a walk for about half an hour every day. So far I'm three for three. Anyone have any bright ideas for what to try? Leave 'em in the comments! Be kind...