I grew up swearing to myself I wouldn’t become an alcoholic like my mom. Spoiler alert: I did become an alcoholic. And let me tell you, I carried immense shame around that for a long time. Sobriety has given me the gift of understanding that, even though I’m an alcoholic (in recovery), I’m still a good mother and it doesn’t mean that I am “like my mother” in all the ways I feared I would be.
- I’m choosing sobriety, and I made this choice early enough in his lifetime that he will never know anything other than a sober mom.
- Being an alcoholic doesn’t make me like my mother. It’s a disease we have in common, but my addiction looked very different from hers.
- Even on my darkest days drinking, my son was happy, healthy, cared for, and nourished - I never let my son see my struggles. I was still there to love him and take care of him whenever he needed me. No load of laundry went undone, no hot meal went unserved, no praise, encouragement, or I love you went unsaid, no adventure wasn’t had.
Grateful today for the opportunity to heal, one day at a time.
