An early memory from my childhood that stands out to me is when I got into trouble at the young age of 6 years old. A lot of children get in trouble with their parents, but this was different.
I'd often go to a friend's house only a few blocks away from home. My friend had a big family and lots of delicious food, so I enjoyed playing there. On this particular day, one of the younger siblings in the house cut part of my long ponytail off!! I was just a little kid and was terrified of what my mom would do when she saw my chopped up hair. I kept repeating, my mom is going to kill me, my mom is going to kill me.
My friends walked me home with the plan to explain to my mother what had happened, and they planned to tell my mother that it wasn’t Bobbie’s fault. When we arrived at my house, my friend tried to explain, but before they could finish, my mom pulled me inside and slammed the door.
She was furious and claimed that I had done it on purpose. She didn’t believe me. What happened next is painful to think about.
I have two beautiful children who are so young and so small and I love them above all things - unconditionally. I could never imagine putting them through what my mother put me through as a young child and adult.
So thinking back to my mother, I didn't realize until later in my early 20s that she was an alcoholic. She was probably an alcoholic my entire life and I didn't even know it. Even after getting beat up, kicked out of the house during winters in Wisconsin, and then having the police called on me, I continued to love her unconditionally.
Having an alcoholic parent will teach you where to draw the line. As I got older, I learned about boundaries and what I had to do for my well being. What can you live with?
You get to decide if you want to be around an alcoholic or not. YOU get to decide. Even if they haven’t had a drop of alcohol in 20 years, the disease doesn’t go away. There is no cure. They are still an alcoholic.
Setting those boundaries may be the best thing you can do for yourself.
I'd often go to a friend's house only a few blocks away from home. My friend had a big family and lots of delicious food, so I enjoyed playing there. On this particular day, one of the younger siblings in the house cut part of my long ponytail off!! I was just a little kid and was terrified of what my mom would do when she saw my chopped up hair. I kept repeating, my mom is going to kill me, my mom is going to kill me.
My friends walked me home with the plan to explain to my mother what had happened, and they planned to tell my mother that it wasn’t Bobbie’s fault. When we arrived at my house, my friend tried to explain, but before they could finish, my mom pulled me inside and slammed the door.
She was furious and claimed that I had done it on purpose. She didn’t believe me. What happened next is painful to think about.
I have two beautiful children who are so young and so small and I love them above all things - unconditionally. I could never imagine putting them through what my mother put me through as a young child and adult.
So thinking back to my mother, I didn't realize until later in my early 20s that she was an alcoholic. She was probably an alcoholic my entire life and I didn't even know it. Even after getting beat up, kicked out of the house during winters in Wisconsin, and then having the police called on me, I continued to love her unconditionally.
Having an alcoholic parent will teach you where to draw the line. As I got older, I learned about boundaries and what I had to do for my well being. What can you live with?
You get to decide if you want to be around an alcoholic or not. YOU get to decide. Even if they haven’t had a drop of alcohol in 20 years, the disease doesn’t go away. There is no cure. They are still an alcoholic.
Setting those boundaries may be the best thing you can do for yourself.
