I follow Maria Shriver for her fight against Alzheimer's so this popped up on my facebook news feed today.
I fully admit to drinking at playdates. And I probably can name once or twice that I probably shouldn't have had that extra glass of wine. Thinking about that now makes me feel like a horrible mother and wife. I would NEVER endanger my son but two glasses of white wine is a no-no for this mom. I wasn't drunk, but I definitely have driven tipsy before.
Truth be told I should not drink white wine. It makes me drunk so much faster than red wine or bourbon. I will begin to limit myself to one glass at future playdates and daytime events.
But back to this story. Moms are binge drinking these days. Shocking? No. Raising kids is not a walk in the park. It is hard work if you are a working mom, and hard work if you are a stay at home mom. I know people think we make up the terms "anxiety" and "ocd" but if you have ever seen me in action off my meds you will completely understand. Trust me. Hell, I'm sure I can be unpleasant ON my meds.
For me, wine or bourbon act as a soother. A baby blanket if you will. If I've had a hard day and my son is throwing his food, and my house is a mess, and there are dishes in the sink; a glass of wine takes the edge off. It takes my mind off of hyper-drive warp-speed and allows me to slow down and SMILE.
Do I have a problem? I'm not sure. Can I stop drinking if necessary? Yes. I've been to the rheumatologist and Urologist this past week and one thing I need to do is steer clear from my normal alcohol consumption for a bit to get a good baseline for my kidneys/bladder. It is hard for me not to drink but I can do it.
I know I joke about it a lot, hell the title of this blog has Bourbon in it but I do love my drinks. Unfortunately the only other thing to put me in this good of a mood is exercise and you have to find the time for that.
What do you moms think? I grew up in a family that has a drink every night. It never ever affected me as a kid (I did grow up in Asheville, not sure the same would be true if we had stayed in New Orleans). I never really started day drinking (except for gameday and bloodies) until we went to France.
Ordering white wine with lunch is just so......wonderful. Warm weather is finally here and deck/yard/beach season is fast approaching which means the plethora of summer cocktail recipes is about to fill our Instagrams and Pinterest timelines.
So I'm curious. How much do you think is too much?
xo
K
I don't drink much and I'm not a mother. But one drink a day seems like a good/safe amount. My parents drank about that much most days when I was growing up and I turned out fine. I worry so much about accidentally driving when tipsy. I usually don't drink out when out with friends because I'm so afraid of getting pulled over and getting arrested and having my license suspended.
ReplyDeleteI have had a glass or two at playdates. One if I'm driving, 2 if it's in the neighborhood. I think about this too, especially as my children are getting older and more aware. That said, I like to have a glass of wine. It helps me unwind, relax a little and smile. If I can show them that you can be responsible, then that's a bonus. I would never get tipsy in front of them. But, sometimes, when you're a stay at home mom, playdates are the only social time you get and they're something to look forward to. I refused to be judged for that.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I gave up drinking a month after our first child was born. We had a slightly scary experience after a couple of beers in that first month and decided it wasn't worth it. So we stopped. Since then we will only drink at weddings and there is a 3 drink maximum when we attend. We do 99% of our socializing as husband and wife so it didn't seem fair to trade off or for only one of us to drink and "have fun". There are a few times that we have both "missed" it but all in all its been an amazing experience for our family.
ReplyDeleteMy family were never big drinkers but his defiantly are. I don't think its hurt any of our relationships with anyone.
ummm. I am going to look like a big boozer in comparison to the other posts... oh well. I unfortunately, don't get invited to playdates with alcohol involved. I wish I did!
ReplyDeleteOn weekends, the alcohol definitely starts during the day. Usually after lunch time but my husband has been known to crack a beer while cutting the grass on a saturday morning.
I usually have at least a glass of wine every night. On weekends we have several beers and/or glasses of wine in the evenings on the deck while the kids run around the backyard.