Day 2 — How To Avoid Traps When Traveling Sober

Spiral Up Instead of Down

Sober Journey Day 2

A travel day. I dropped my girl off at school and headed to the airport. I nearly burst into tears when she got out of the car. I’ve been a mom for so long I barely know how to be anything else. She’s almost 13, but she let me kiss her head and she even said “love you” as she got out of the car. I melted. I’m looking forward to being alone, but I missed my kids the second I said goodbye.

Alone. How easy it would be to fail. To slip into a restaurant at the airport during my layover and order a drink. Literally no one would know. It’s a miracle worse things don’t happen to people who travel alone for work. Or maybe they do happen and I’m completely oblivious.

Instead, I grabbed a veggie wrap for lunch. Tip #1 — I find the healthier I eat, the easier it is to stay away from booze. Spiral up instead of down. When I eat junk, I want more junk, and it’s so much easier to give in to the booze because I’ve already ruined my diet for the day. Right?

Just one more excuse to give in.

So I stayed healthy. It helped.

Alcohol-Heavy Society

When I searched up restaurants near the hotel (we’re staying in downtown Pittsburgh), every single description described, in one sentence, what type of food they had and what kind of drinks they were known for.

We are living in a very alcohol-heavy society.

The restaurant at the hotel is called Billy’s Bar. Next to the check-in counter was a wall of snacks and drinks…including tons of alcohol choices. And I’m all alone…stressed from traveling and worrying about what my boss expects from me. Navigating brand new waters without the aid of some booze to help me calm down.

It’s going to be a long week.

Thankfully I’m an introvert and a homebody. Why will this help me this week? Because once I’m settled in my room, it’s doubtful I’ll leave unless necessary. The key is to not bring anything to the room with me.

Tip #2 — Be an introvert and don’t leave your room. (Not serious, serious.)

The Replacement Drink

My boss and I went out to a Thai place for dinner. I ordered a milk tea, one of my favorite drinks from when we lived in Asia a few years ago. This helped.

Tip #3 — It helps to have a replacement drink.

Normally I just prefer water if I’m not drinking coffee or alcohol. But at these beginning stages, it helps to have something else to sip on. The milk tea was perfect.

I’m not going to lie though. It was hard to be sober during that dinner. Having dinner with your boss can be awkward and a little anxiety-producing. But the milk tea helped, and Tip #4 — I kept the conversation going by plying her with questions about topics I knew she’d enjoy talking about.

By the time we got back to the hotel, I was so worn out, I couldn’t wait to get back to my room. It also helps that they have suspended room service because of Covid. So I can’t order myself a drink. This is good.

Tip #5 — Can room service be suspended before you arrive?

And I’m exhausted. I didn’t get much time to spend with Jesus today, although I read quite a bit of a fascinating book about healing while I was traveling: The Essential Guide to Healing by Bill Johnson.

It’s always good to have a toolkit of sober strategies. I’m learning what those are…trial by fire!

Day 2 conquered and dusted off.

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