Dealing with an alcoholic may teach you about boundaries and where to draw the line; it did for me, although, I didn't realize this until my early 20s. My mother was an alcoholic my entire life, and I didn't even know. From getting beat up, kicked out of the house during winters in Wisconsin, and then having the police called on me, I continued to love my mother unconditionally.
As I got older, I learned about boundaries and why they were so important. I set clear rules between my mother and I. I had to.
You can't choose whether or not someone stops drinking. But YOU get to decide how involved in their life you want to be. Setting boundaries may be the best thing you can do for yourself.
