Instead of the struggles, how about the rewards?
I love having two happy, well-adjusted children who aren't afraid to invite their friends over. I love how my children feel secure enough to tell me how they feel, even if they know I'm not gonna like it. I love that my children gladly help out around the house because they feel like we are a team. I love not being the one in the middle between and unreasonable alcoholic and innocent children.
Yeah, money's tight, but there is no amount of money I would trade for my children's emotional well-being. We still have our share of struggles, but they are the garden variety struggles all parents and children have. Not the dysfunctional crazy struggles inherent in the codependent/alcoholic dynamic. I believe my recovery has allowed them to blossom and grow into the people they were meant to be. They can work on their own lives now that they don't have a crazy, codependent mom. That's priceless. And I am forever grateful for it.
Oh yeah, and I love only being responsible for the children I gave birth to, not the overgrown king baby child I used to care for as well, lol.
L