Thanks for sharing. I am 54 years old and the middle child of two brothers. My dad was a chronic alcoholic and my parents married at 19 and 21.
My mom provided us with necessities but never spoke of alcoholism. In college, my dad fell down our stairs and could have bled to death. My mom called 911 after talking to my older brother and filed for divorce afterward. I was side blinded and never connected that my dad was a chronic alcoholic. My memories had been suppressed. My dad had been in at least 10 different treatment centers during my child hood. I would come home after school and he was passed out on the kitchen floor. I remember going to my aunts for the weekend or my grandparents for a week but was never told why.
One of my college roommates had a mother who who a chronic alcoholic and I started going to ADOC ( Adult children of Alcoholics) with her. Awakening begun!
Once I begun my career in the legal field, I met paralegals and continued ACOA classes with a client friend. The ACOA meetings included professionals - I was shocked and continued my healing. However, I married an addict and divorced after 17 years. During my broken marriage, we attended marriage counseling and I re woke to my past and connected that I married an addict. But together, our lives brought 2 beautiful daughters, they have been the center of my life.
During my divorce, I was given the BEST ADIVCE as I sat in church, next to neighbor. She said, " I have been through hardship and you need to prioritize. First, God. Second, Rhonda (me). Third, my girls who were 13 and 11. Because God will take care of me and I need to take care of me to take care of my girls.. I have been divorced for 10 years and focused on my girls.
Sydney graduated from ISU in May 2020 and Lillie will graduate Dec 2021. I am very proud and feeling confident in my choices and role modeling. God Bless! I am grateful for finding you!