Alcohol

My views on the subject at hand have definatly come full circle.

Growing up we had just about any alcohol at hand. I knew right where it was; the kegerator in the garage and the hard stuff underneath the island in the kitchen. Did I touch it?? Hell no. Did I even consider it??? not once.

I'm not going to lie, I still to this day belive that if you are old enough to die for your country then you are old enough to drink a beer. Unfortunatly, Americans are dumb and can't handle some freedoms.

With that belief, Not once did I drink in high school, after turning 18 and after the beginning of the first hell I went though called my parents divorce. Maybe it's because I was one of the handful of honest peer counselors who respected the contract I had signed. Didn't even have a drink of real champagne at a wedding the summer in between my jr. and sr. year due to that contract.

Then there was college. I was the DD....until I started dating a cop. It all went downhill from there. Headline reads, "Cop buys drinks for underaged fiance." I used to rag him about how ironic it was. His reply, "If you are in your own house and not planning on going anywhere, it's okay." Drank a few times...like a champion. Started drinking with some girlfriends...like a champion. Sneaked alcohol into the dorm...like a champion. Then there was the break up...didn't eat for several days going into weeks let alone drink anything.

So we move on, I'm over legal age now. I start going to the bars with intention to have a couple and hang out/dance with some friends. Then I celebrate other people's 21st. BAD idea. Mine sucked as they always find out from someone other than me, and you'd think it's mine. Beyond a drunken stouper in Columbus I puke for the first time from alcohol.....in my cousin's bed. Woke up the next morning with NO hangover. This is great I'm thinking.....except the throwing up part.

The next summer I start going to the bar with my mom. Who does that?? I do. The friends there become my friends. After a conversation one night a friend tells me how she tried to do Tracy Byrd's "Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo" made it to 8 and puked her guts out right then and there. I told her I'd take her on....and I did. After number 10 I was still dancing, in my heels. Slammed a couple White Castle sliders on the way home and went to bed.

Here I am, 23 years old, getting married in 6 weeks and I rarely touch the stuff. Probably because I'm marrying a man who never has touched it. I don't care about having another drink. My choice.

Why bring this up??? Facebook has done it again and made me think. Yes, I have pictures of me with the headshot that I did. One Time. However, I see the pictures of people, even former peer couselors, proudly proclaiming and showing off their drinks. It's not that it bothers me they drink. I prolly still would if I weren't in my current circumstances. (and yes I have had a beer or two in front of Dan, just not as regular as I used to) I guess I'm just a lot more cautious about proudly announcing things where my employers could be looking. It also shocks me to see what people do, yes even on their own time, given different professions they may be holding. I guess if there's one thing I learned while I was in teaching school it was C.Y.A.