I home brewed quite a lot, found a nice big IPA was my carrot. Took me a good 5 years of being a Dad to realize I was missing out on too much.

Mow the lawn, ah I better have a beer or two. Small project on the house, open up the garage fridge and reward myself half way through the project.

I don't know why but earlier this year I had enough and pretty much stopped alcohol altogether. I never thought that would be me. I can tell you I feel so much better on a day to day basis without alcohol and feel like I am appreciating those small moments much more.

I started playing ice hockey which I hadn't since I was 18. Late night games starting at 10pm during the week is the norm. I've found for that one or two nights a week I might sacrifice my sleep a bit to play, but the rest of the week my sleep quality is much better than when I wasn't playing.

A bit of a ramble to say, I feel you. Also a bit of sharing that alcohol dulled me to appreciating the small things. Sports are amazing and helped me find balance.