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My Father Said He Could Quit Anytime
So why didn’t he quit for me?
My father is an alcoholic, and for my entire time growing up he wasn’t without a beer. From driving me to school to hanging out around the house, I never saw him without a Lone Star Light. He always drank the light version of beer to keep his weight down but after a twelve pack, does it really matter?
When we got older, he switched to wine and gin, but alcohol was always there. I figured he would eventually get a health scare and give it up, but even after getting pancreatitis, he still kept drinking.
But then one day, he just quit. He stopped drinking all together and hasn’t touched it since. Now that it’s been about two years, I decided to ask him how he quit, as I’m having trouble and I couldn’t believe his words.
“I didn’t like alcohol anymore so I just quit.”
I probed him for further information. Did it take a few attempts? Did he do something to distract himself so that he could quit? What could possibly have changed this man’s mind so much that after decades of drinking, and decades of driving while drinking, he could just quit.
His response baffled me. He just stopped liking alcohol so he just stopped drinking it?
I was amazed and also extremely suspicious. How could this man, who I’ve known…
