I wrote this for my English comp class the other day - thought I'd share it here.

Decisions We Make

I can’t remember a time when my grandfather was sober. According to my father, his dad had always been that way. It seems he always had a beer in his hand. If not a beer he had one of his “hot totties” as he called them. He wasn’t the type that got just falling-down drunk, but rather got red in the face and eyes and his words were just a bit slurred. My grandparents had five sons. All of which started drinking at very young ages and most continue to this day. We learn by the example we are shown. However, my father decided to stop the cycle and ended his boozing days. The story is that my dad went out to a nightclub with his brothers one night and got into a fight with a couple of other guys. My dad suffered head trauma – a laceration across the top of his head that required a multitude of stitches. My mom rushed to the emergency room and told him that she’d had enough and that he had to make a choice. He could either hang out with his brothers drinking or he could build a life with her and his two daughters. Thankfully my dad chose us and my sister and I had an amazing childhood. My dad chose to break the cycle and put his family above all else. Now that I’m a mother, I think the truly amazing part out of all of this is that my daughter will not have the same type of memories of her grandfather that I do. Her memories will be filled with wonderment and adoration for the man that sits and rocks her to sleep while holding her tiny hand. Alcoholism did affect my life to some degree, but thanks to the decision my dad made all those years ago it will not affect my child's in the same way.