64

64.. that was old my sister Eileen was when she passed away yesterday.

My sister had a tough life and battled with the same devil that grabbed my father and still has hold of my other sister and nephew.. alcohol.

I watched my whole life as alcohol destroyed so many lives, not only those infected with this disease but the family members around them. I thank the good lord every day that I am not an alcoholic and neither are my kids, it is a shame how we still glorify getting drunk. I wish that instead of all those commercials showing people laughing and in these beautiful bodies that they show a person at the end of their life that have been alcoholics then maybe it would not be so glorified.
My sister loved to laugh and had a big heart, unfortunately a lot of that got lost in her later years because of the drinking.

As I have said in past blogs I always preached to my kids - everything in moderation- it is not so much that alcohol is bad it is the abuse of alcohol and some people like my good friend Steve who passed away way to young and my sister have a type personality that they do not have a shut off switch so they abuse the booze or even pot and eventually get lead to pills or higher drugs, it is a vicious circle and ugly.
I am sad for all the years my sister lost and all the years that will lose and all because she killed herself..slowly but it was her choice and that makes it even harder in a lot of respects. She tried rehab several times and was clean for three years straight then started it all up again. I loved my sister and to watch her do to herself what my dad and uncle and other friends did to themselves was hurtful but most of all I hurt for her.

If you have a loved one that shows signs of alcoholism try your best to hit it early, be honest and try to help. Ultimately it is always their choice but at least try. Laughing and looking the other way will not help, they need you, they need help.
And if you have kids or grandkids set the example , show them. What they see is much more powerful then what you say.