zoso77

I hate admitting this, but I couldn't wait to get the hell out of my brother's house. It's not because I don't love my brother. I do. But my niece is apparently not the only one who is dealing with alcoholism.

My sister-in-law and I had a very, very long talk last week about my brother and his alcohol consumption. And it has gotten to the point where my sister-in-law cannot take anymore. It's bad enough their daughter, my niece, has been struggling with her demons for 9 years. My brother will not stop drinking. Even though his wife has asked him repeatedly to stop, he won't do it. When I visited my niece this past weekend, she too said my brother was an alcoholic.

As soon as I walked out of his house yesterday, I detached from those situations. There's nothing I can do down there. My sister-in-law will have to find her own path regarding both their daughter and my brother. What she and I talked about will remain between the two of us. The rest of my family will not know what is going on down there. I had planned on going back with my brothers in April to golf. I'm not going down. If I went down, we would drink every night. And I'm not going to be a part of something that I now know is destructive to his family.

As far as my niece goes, I am grateful that I both had a chance to visit with her, and a chance to share with her my experiences with my AXGF. I didn't pull any punches. I told her that she's got a vulnerability, and it's up to her from this time forward to protect that vulnerability. No one can do it for her. When she gets out of rehab and she's on her own, it's up to her to stay sober. She knows I love her and I'm there for her, but she needs to do the work. I can't save her from herself. No one can.

Anyways, I'm back. I'm sad, but grateful to be home and grateful to have SR as a place to vent. Hope you're all well.