winnie1202

Go online and find a meeting in your area. My situation was very similar to yours except my kids are now older (teenagers) but I spent many years trying to keeping things normal for them while the stress that I was feeling was over the top. In the last couple of years his drinking had gotten so bad that there were no longer excuses. They knew at work. It is only by the grace of God he didn't get picked up for a DUI and lose his CDL license. Drinking so bad I called and ambulance twice this past summer. He was in an outpatient program for a couple of months but fell off the wagon. Within days of this he he drank so much I called the ambulance and his BAC was so high he should have been dead. I convinced the dr. at the hospital to keep him on the mental floor for a few days to detox while I got him in an inpatient program. He finished 30 days there, went back to work, does outpatient a few days a week and AA inbetween. My younger teenager sees a therapist (yes, her dads drinking was the catalyst) and we have family sessions every so often. While this was going on we almost lost our home and had to file for Chapter 13 to help us repay our debts) due to the decrease of income.

I hung in there. But I also learned my the best lessons at Alanon...get out of their way and you can't do it alone. I got him into a program and then I left it up to him. It has been 4 months since he left the program and he knows that if he falls off I am gone, his life is gone. I was also trying to do it on my own and the stress was killing me. The best thing I did was get my family and his family involved. His sisters and brother especially as they saw their father die from alcoholism.

You need to do what is best for you and your children.