Happy Holidays!

Dogged Determination will return on Wednesday.

In the meantime, some holiday advice, whether you're in recovery or not:

-Don't drink the eggnog, whether it's spiked or not. Most people don't know 'nog' is a shortened form of a German word loosely translated as 'diarrhea during heart attack.'

-If you're in recovery any alcohol is a terrible idea, no matter what your drug of choice.

-Drinking at the office Christmas Party can have serious consequences as you might:

• Ask someone who isn't pregnant if they're having a boy or a girl.
• Laugh at someone's ugly Christmas sweater not knowing if they know it's ugly. (Funny on the TV commercial, not so funny in real life.)
• Photocopy your butt. Someone who repairs copiers told me the glass isn't made to support people. Folks break the glass, which has to be removed at the ER.
• Order things on the company credit card you later forget you ordered.  Do you want to explain to Finance why you ordered roofing nails for your law firm? Try to convince your boss you ordered "Leather Restraint" thinking it was a safety video for new, upscale seatbelts?

-Don't rationalize your use of chemicals, just this once, just one more time, or just to get through the holidays.

-Convince yourself anything that happens in 2018 stays in 2018. Loved ones, law enforcement, collection agencies, employers, and medical professionals may not know misdeeds from 2018 don't count in 2019.

So what can you do? Enjoy the holidays! There's much to love and celebrate this time of year that doesn't carry consequences into next year.