by Les C

Created on: February 12, 2009

Not long ago when we thought about an alcoholic most would envision a staggering homeless man sleeping it off in a dark alley somewhere. A belligerent drunk man at home, abusive to wife and kids, and not able to hold a job is another common idea of an alcoholic. Although these still hold true a new trend is developing. Moms at home drinking or sleeping one off while the children go hungry and neglected has become a more common occurrence. I lived in a home where this situation happened

After fifteen years of marriage I filed for divorce because my wife could no longer control her drinking problem. Most of my family still to this day put all the blame on her, but if all the things leading up to her drinking problem were addressed I feel much of the blame should be on me. You know what they say about hind sight being 20/20. Some of the pain suffered by my whole family might have been avoided with patience and professional help.

In 1991 my wife had already been a stay at home mom for over ten years. She rarely drank at all. Usually her drinking was just on special occasions and was never excessive. Shortly after she became pregnant with our fourth child I took a good paying job that kept me away from the home and family twelve to fourteen hours a day. By the time I got home I rarely had enough energy to visit with the wife or kids as I should have. After several months of this, and shortly after the baby was born my wife came to me in tears. She told me of an idea she had of getting a job. She had already tried to tell me on more then one occasion that she was feeling down and useless because just being a mom wasn't enough. She confided in me that she felt she was being left behind in life. I should have paid closer attention.

We lived in a wealthy neighborhood in a large city which neither of us had ever done before. Making friends with the neighbors wasn't easy for her. Most of our neighbors just didn't understand a small town girl like her. With me gone most the time, it left her with just the house and kids. I finally consented to her getting a job which seemed to appease her for a while. After few weeks she began to hang out after work and drink with fellow employees. Her drinking increased as well. When I tried to confront her with these issues she told me she needed some adult companionship.

I won't say that hanging out with friends and having a drink or two is wrong, but don't let it get out of hand. When she started coming home hours late and tipsy we

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>