My Dad Is An Alcoholic

"She sure takes after her dad!" Parents usually hear comments like this from friends and family. Children are mirrors of their parents in so many ways. They do what they see...what their parents do. When it comes to alcohol and drugs, a parent’s actions directly influences what their children learn. While many children suffer negative consequences due to parental alcoholism, there are some children of alcoholics that function well and do not develop serious problems.
I remember him often with a drink, but I was too young to know him as an alcoholic. To me, he was just my Dad. During a commercial break, a public service announcement flashed across the television screen: “Twenty questions to determine if you are an alcoholic”. A minute later I rushed to the living room where my dad was sitting with a can of beer. I yelled, "Daddy! You're an alcoholic! You do seven out of the twenty things, and you only need three to pass!" My Dad looked at me and said, "Do we live in a...