Teenage Rebellion Averted

Today at the grocery store, I noticed a young couple with two adorable little girls.  The younger, who was being carried by her dad, gave me a very sweet smile every time I passed them.  The older girl was full of energy and running around her parents while they shopped.  They ended up in the check-out line right ahead of me.  I, therefore, overheard conversation between the older girl (who was probably about 4) and the check-out clerk as to who was going to drink the beer that was being purchased.

This brought to mind my 3 or 4 year old self sitting on my Dad's lap while he drank beer with his friends at our kitchen table.  I asked if I could have a taste and was given an emphatic "No!"  I suspect that I was an abnormal child, and that most kids wouldn't react this way, but I remember being furious and indignant.  I thought, "Huh...he sits here and drinks more than one bottle, and he won't even give me a taste.  That is UNFAIR!  If it's not good for me, how can it be good for him?" 

It is probably a very good thing that my Dad gave up drinking alcoholic beverages when I was 7 years old.  I can only imagine how my attitude would have escalated into open defiance, if this "injustice" had continued.  Also, I would have eventually figured out that there was a correlation between the alcohol consumption on Friday night and the entire Saturday being wasted sleeping on the couch.  This lack of ambition when there were things to be done distressed my Mother.  Sooner or later, it would have distressed me too.

I did not understand the significance at the time, but when my Father decided to quit drinking, a celebration of sorts occurred, and my brother and I were allowed to pour the remainder of his stash down the toilet.  I have a distinct memory of this and the foam in the toilet bowl.

I have wondered many times as an adult what kind of problems I would have had and would have created for my parents as a teenager, if my Dad hadn't made some major changes in his life.

So today, I am thinking about those two sweet little girls and wishing the best for them and their parents.