Dry February??

A few years ago, I decided to join in on the popular challenge of abstaining from alcohol over the month of January. I had my last sip of sparkling wine before the stroke of midnight, just to make everything above board.

I mean, if I had taken that sip as everyone was cheering, "HAPPY NEW YEAR," I would have lost that challenge just as it was supposed to start.

I can see why they didn't propose December as the month to go without: too many holiday parties, and there are some relatives that you just can't spend time with while sober. January is a relatively quiet month, and going 31 days without a drink is a good period of time.

But for me, in 2020, Dry January was really not much of a challenge and it gave me a good excuse to sample some non-alcoholic brews for Beer O'Clock. I finished that Dry January like a champ: in fact, it was a couple of days into February before I had my first alcoholic bevvy.

I wasn't desperate for a drink.

Because I felt that there was no big challenge to going all of January without any alcohol, I decided to bump the challenge up a notch and do a Dry July. Like January, there are 31 days in the month. But July is one of the hottest months of the year and in Ottawa, we're in peak patio season.

DW and I visited friends, and I stuck to alcohol-free drinks. We went camping and only DW had any alcohol (and I need alcohol to enjoy camping!).

I'm not going to lie: Dry July was tough but not impossible. I got through it and decided that the challenge was met but likely wouldn't be repeated.

This month, the Canadian Cancer Society is encouraging people to go all of February without a drink. They also want to raise money for their great cause.

I'm all for supporting the Cancer Society and have given them money many times. But I find the challenge to be a bit strange, considering that Dry January is already a well-established event. Does the CSC expect those who have just gotten through January to continue going dry for four more weeks? Why not choose another month? Why pick the shortest month?

I could very easily go 28 days without any alcohol. I mean, I won't, this year, because I'm still in Mexico and those mango margaritas aren't going to drink themselves. I skipped Dry January, this year, because I was spending the last week of the month in Mexico, and I fully expected to take advantage of the all-inclusive bar.

(Seriously, please drink responsibly.)

Plus, I've done Dry January before and have nothing to prove. I've done Dry July—much more challenging but absolutely doable. If I was going to take a break from booze, July or August pose the biggest challenges, so that's what I'd go for.

How about you? Are you taking the Dry Feb challenge?

Leave me a comment. And good luck!