We may be anonymous strangers on the internet, but we have one thing in common. We may be a world apart, but we’re here together!

Welcome to the 24 hour pledge!

I’m pledging myself to not drinking today, and invite you to do the same.

Maybe you’re new to /r/stopdrinking and have a hard time deciding what to do next. Maybe you’re like me and feel you need a daily commitment or maybe you’ve been sober for a long time and want to inspire others.

It doesn’t matter if you’re still hung over from a three day bender or been sober for years, if you just woke up or have already completed a sober day. For the next 24 hours, lets not drink alcohol!

Parenting. In my last marriage I had three step kids but only every other weekend so I could “hide it”. I certainly did not wake up on time most weekends though. Fast forward to now, one of the reasons something “clicked” in my head was getting the news that I needed to take custody of my niece. Full time. By myself. She got a hold of her parents methodone treatment thinking it was a regular bottle of water and nearly died at 8 years old. This ball got rolling around the same time that I was realizing I had a problem, but every time I tried to stop for a day, I would detox the next. I was in that vicious cycle of day ones trying to get to day 4. But I couldn’t stay in bed all day weekends with her around. I couldn’t sleep in when she had to go to school. I couldn’t let her cycle of disappointment and foster homes continue. I had to relearn how to handle stress without alcohol again. And I had to learn to believe in myself again. One day at a time.