The Secret Shame of An Alcoholic Mother

When I was young, I was guilty of one of the seven deadly sins quite often. It was the sin of envy. I coveted the things that I perceived others to have that I did not- both tangible and not. I was guilty of this transgression against even my closest friends. It was not that I wished they didn’t have these things and I did instead. Rather, I wanted that I also had them and did not understand why I couldn’t have been born into what I thought of as ‘normalcy’. It took a peek behind the scenes of one of the most popular girls at my school’s life to teach me that while we may think another’s life is perfect and charmed, we have no clue what darkness may be lurking behind that door with the beautifully manicured lawn and nice cars parked in the driveway. I’m 12 years old and it is my friend Joan’s birthday. Joan has a beautiful house she has lived in since I’ve known her, with a wraparound porch and glass French doors that lead to the back patio. Her father is a business owner and her mother is a beautiful woman that tends to the home. I love spending the night because she has satellite tv with lots of channels, and we sit up late and eat name-brand snacks and watch late-night MTV. She has daschunds and I love those too. I have none of those things, and I am somewhat jealous but always just happy to be there because I love Joan, separately from her awesome stuff. <a href="https://thetaoist.online/the-secret-shame-of-an-alcoholic-mother-3136ae98a6a0">Visit Now</a>