Monday Malaise

I'm feeling some malaise today. I am quite literally not at ease. It's not the alcohol, since I haven't had any for the last 17 days (and 96 out of the last 99 days!) anyway. It's not even the chocolate mint waffle cone, bagels, cookies, and Chinese food I binged on yesterday - though recovering from that is not helping. It's just me - unclouded, un-hungover - having a malaise-y Monday.With the end of the school year upon us, and my son starting kindergarten in another year, I ponder the precipice I approach. I have been a stay-at-home mom for the last six and a half years. And I don't know what's next for me. I don't have a job waiting for me, or a career to which I could make a triumphant return. I am about to emerge from the depths of #SAHMlife and I don't know what's out there in a world where I will have SEVEN WHOLE HOURS to myself five days week.I imagine some of this time will be taken up by a part-time job. But what am I going to do to make money? None of my volunteer commitments have the potential to turn into paying gigs. And lately I've lost steam with them anyway. I've been too into, well, THIS. Writing. And reading. And Connecting.I am figuring my shit out, learning to love myself, and finding my voice.So what do I WANT to do once I am able to usher both my kids onto the same school bus and not be chauffeuring them, cooking for them, cleaning up after them, and wiping their butts all day?I want to help people like the person I used to be, by which I mean overweight, wine-dependent, unfit, and - most importantly - under-self-loved. But how? There are already so many beautiful women with perfect Instagram accounts and gazillions of followers who are established in the sober/mom/fitness/wellness/you-name-it communities. Books have already been written. Podcasts have already been recorded. Who am I to think I have anything to add to any aspect of any of this?Especially since I have not fully given up alcohol. And I have not fully conquered my eating issues. And I could always be more fit. And a better mom. Etc.But I have come so far. I wake every morning now with a body that a year and a half ago I believed was totally unrealistic for me. Before starting Weight Watchers, I had my wedding rings sized up and now they dangle from my fingers on cool days. The thought of drinking the way I used to not only holds zero appeal, it feels like a different life - and yet it was only six-ish months ago that it was MY life. I feel more comfortable in this skin than I have felt in years - maybe ever.And yet I'm uneasy. I think because I don't have a clear picture of where I want to go, what I want to be, what I want to do. My opportunity to emerge from #SAHMlife is on the horizon and when I get there I want to be ready to slay.For now, I am a work in progress. And that is ok. I will never catch up to those amazing ladies who have been pioneers in the alcohol-free movement. And that is ok. I am finding my own voice. And that is ok. I can't pretend to be anything other than this much-improved version of me. And that is more than ok.Will I ever give up alcohol completely? I don't know. Here's what I do know: I will indulge in a glass of wine the way I indulge in a cup of Cold Stone Peanut Butter Cup Perfection. Very occasionally. I know it's not good for me. I know it brings no benefit to the body that I have worked so hard to achieve. I know I will feel worse for having consumed it. And yet I am building enough inner trust to know that one cup of ice cream or glass of wine will NOT send me into a spiral anymore. And that is huge for me.Maybe someday these desires will disappear, and I won't want to burden my body with booze or sugar. Wouldn't that be great? I don't know, actually - and that's why it's not my goal right now.My goal is to spend what little kid-free time I currently have empowering myself with knowledge. Understanding acutely the effect of these chemicals on my body. But I am not going to force myself to fit into the alcohol-free mold before I'm ready, because I don't want to set myself up for self-sabotage.The final ascent to the self-actualization apex of Maslow's Pyramid probably does not include alcohol or sugar, or caffeine for that matter! But everyone's ascent is different. And I can only follow my own. As long as I'm making my way up that pyramid, no matter how round-about my route, that is the important thing.I have more than a year until two little butts scurry up the stairs onto the school bus. I have time. I am in learning and discovery mode. And whenever I feel late to the party, with my tiny blog and tiny Instagram following, I have to remind myself that the party has already changed for the better because I am here.