Family Reunion..

[Andre139]

It was a family reunion, three weeks ago. I was listening to my uncles speak of the "good old days". When they played hockey, got drunk several times a week, had all the girls, etc. I went to the same high school as they did when they were younger, and several of the older teachers there remember both of my uncles, as well as my father (three brothers, obviously!). It was funny, being a 14-year-old ninth grader hearing of teachers remember my father and uncles as being big drinker when they were around my age. And then thinking to myself, "Wow, they made an impression on people, and it's last for 20+ years, it HAS to be good!". How wrong I was, and it's taken me 6 years to find out.

The eldest of the bunch, which happens to be my father, is 43. His kidneys are failing. He goes to dialysis twice a week. No one expects him to live past 50 years of age. The two others, 39 and 37, respectively, have already been told by their doctors to not drink "hard" alcohol anymore. Meaning modest amounts of beer and wines only. The scary part; I'm seeing myself going down the same path.

I asked my grandmother how it could happen. I didn't ask her in the sense that I was mad at her. All three are very successful, and come from a very good home. The best answer she could give me was that they were "always partying". Meaning that yes, they drank 7 days a week, but they were always in a social setting, so that made it "ok". I'm also seeing myself go down the same road.

And you would think these two things would open my eyes to the dangers of alcohol abuse. Yet, I find myself completely, utterlessly powerless over it.

So, that's how I found myself at soberrecovery.com tonight. I recently sought help for my alcoholism and the very first thing my therapist told me is that the internet is chock full of very useful websites. After a google search, my sails were set to this website.

I have not been sober for more than a few days at a time yet, but I'm hoping this will all change very soon.

Thank you to anyone who took the time to read.

[margo]

Welcome Andre139! We are so glad you found your way here. Be sure to check out the Newcomers forum, Alcoholism, and the Alcoholics Anonymous forum, amongst others. You'll find some great support here from people who have been where you are now.

Welcome again!