My eighteen year old son was heading off to college, and I couldn’t be prouder. He really wasn’t into school but did not want to give up the opportunity to go to college with friends. About two months before, he did a one-eighty on us. He decided to enlist in the Air Force.

Was I proud? Immensely. But there’s a big difference between sending your kid to college a few hours away and sending them to boot camp and beyond. I cried so hard when he left for MEPs the day after Christmas. We all did.

In between signing up and leaving, my son suggested a wager. He bet me I couldn’t give up wine while he was in boot camp. I was, like, pffffttt. I can do that. You’re on!

Then came all the clarifying questions over the next few weeks.

“How long is boot camp?”

“Is it while you are at boot camp or until you get home?!?”

“How long until you get HOME?!?”

He finally said, “Are you serious, mom? If I can go through boot camp you can give up wine.”

Fine. Six months. Okay. I can do this.

So on December 24, 2021 I had my last sip of wine. Of course I drank other things including beer, bourbon and mixed drinks. I gave it all up. Time to give my liver a break.

Was it hard? Not at first. I had done several dry Januarys and even gone a little longer than that. I probably made it to 90 days or so at some point, but never longer than that outside of pregnancies.

Little did I know my dad would pass away five months into this bet. Years before he should have and too early compared to others in his family. I was devastated. Sadly, he died due to decades of drinking. He couldn’t give it up no matter how many times he tried.

Imagine that impact. Pretty big sign. I picture the red flag guy running in a field every time I think about this.

So when my son came home from boot camp and training, I didn’t take a drink. I was six months in and some of the changes were more noticeable. My skin looked better, eyes were getting brighter, and I was far less irritable. That was an unexpected benefit I didn’t notice right away but looking back, I see it.

I didn’t lose a darn pound, in case you were wondering. We can’t have it all, even on the road to better health.

A lot happened to me during those first six months that I will dig into as we go along. And a lot happened afterward. Sometimes life is amazing, other times it’s hard to get out of bed.

My kid changed my life. None of us knew the impact that bet would have.