Everyday is a Gift

Mothers, what would we do without them?

My mother is the women that raised me every day since I arrived into the world. Of course what people don’t know is that I lived a very rough childhood up until five years ago. You see, my mother is an alcoholic and once you have this disease it is very hard to be able to get rid of it. Well, let me rephrase that, when you become an alcoholic you can never fully recover from it. You will always be an alcoholic, sober or not sober.

When I was little and growing up I never got to go to sleep overs or a friends’ house, I always went directly home once the clock struck 3:20. When I managed to get home I would make sure that my mom was safe and that she was not getting into anything, in a short version I was just like a babysitter but to my own mother. After getting her situated and cleaning the house I then started working on making supper so that my brother could have something in his stomach before he went to bed. I was the mother of the household and even though I knew that it was not healthy I had to make sure that my brother got everything he needed and that he could live a better childhood than I was so that he didn’t have to carry a burden everywhere he went like I did. But at the age of thirteen something magnificent happened. My mother admitted herself into treatment.

Even though I was very sad at the thought of my mother leaving me for an extensive period of time I knew that she had to go to get healthy and be able to say no to her addiction. After a month she was able to come home because she had made progress and showed no sign of wanting to consume alcohol. After thirteen years I had finally had a mother that would love and care for me and I would no longer have to be a parent. That day when she arrived home I knew at that exact moment my life would change forever.

For three months I struggled with having my mother there because I had a routine that I wanted to be the one who did everything because that was my responsibility and I took pride in everything that I did. I knew that I had to let go of that role and once I did I was thankful to be able to be a kid and do what I wanted.

On February 25, 2013 my mother will be sober for five years. I am very proud of her because she managed to make it through many obstacles in her lifetime and that’s what makes her strong. I wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world.

 

 

                                                                       
                                                         

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.

Amen.