My Choice to be Dry
I come from a long, sad, confusing line of alcoholics. From the maternal grandfather who died in the gutter - to the mother who binge drank and the father who hid mickeys in his coat pocket, or sometimes the mailbox... Drinking to excess was a passage into adulthood myself and my nephew [who was two years older than me] were eager to experience. My parents and his parents were a part of the 60s cocktail generation. At the cottage, there was ample beer and wine on weekends, and a good time could only be had if you were well oiled. My nephew and I would fill our rain-coat pockets full of brown stubby bottles of beer and wander the dark cottage roads drinking them. I don't remember getting trashed on these walks, but it shows the complete neglect we experienced as children at the family cottage. As a mother of many children, now grown, I am heartbroken for myself and my childhood. It was hard being the 5th daughter of a woman who was so tired. Having me at 43, I can only imagine. ...