My wife and I went out. I drank green tea.

Oh boy — there were days in our youth when we’d wake up and light up a cigarette immediately. We’d have a beer early in the day. We’d party in the evening with our friends. There’d be more drinking and smoking.

I’m making it sound like we were party animals. We weren’t. Well, we were on some days. We were young and carefree. There were some crazy days indeed, and the memories are all good. No regrets.

Then we matured. Work, kids, more kids, more work; lots of moves and travels; lots of ups and downs. One thing that remained constant was our habit of having a few drinks every evening — beer or wine.

Two decades of drinking wine every night.

Again — no regrets. When I write about abstinence from alcohol, I’ll never shame myself for my past habits and indulgences. It was what it was. I won’t shame others, either. If having a drink contributes to your well-being and you are not addicted — enjoy your drink.

It’s just that I wanted a change in my life. Change is not easy to achieve. It takes time for any new endeavor to become a habit and augment your identity. It takes patience. Setbacks always happen and can easily derail you even when you’re determined.

I started the change at the end of last year and persevered. Perseverance is an overstatement. I was easy on myself. The change was gradual. I avoided ‘setbacks’ because I had no goals. When you don’t have rigid goals, you can’t have setbacks. But started the…