I'm glad you're open about your bout with alcoholism. It touches many lives.

My ex didn't start out as one, but it progressed with the marriage. He never quite got a handle on it, and it has worn him out over the years. He used to tell me "I" had the problem....and I finally said "Yeah, and you're it!" The kids have had to put up with him, he never got counselling. I just got out and raised them as normal as I could. And they are stellar kids. But their father still occasionally embarrases them, but they love him and excuse his mishaps and faux pas. And since I've moved away, he dominates their existence, and I have to be careful what I say.

My daughter goes out of her way to bring us all "together" for dinner whenever I'm back in town, and it doesn't take long for the button pushing to start. I told her the last time to limit the visit to ONE and to make it short. They want the 'family" they never had.

That wrecking ball destroying someones living room and the photos on the mantle you see in the old commercials about alcoholism , hit our family when the kids were small. It sure shifted how I had to live MY life. It's certainly worth discussing.