Hey Molly,
It’s me…
The one who comments on your Instagram posts. I’m the one who shares your harmful mommy-wine posts on my story and DMs you about your alcohol-centered approach to social media.
I’m writing you this to try to get you to understand.
Imagine for a minute that you’re a mom struggling with alcohol. The days pass by, and you try to do your best. Small (and big) humans depend on you for everything. You don’t have a person to clean your house or cook your meals for you. You don’t have anyone to take care of your kids. All of the responsibility rests on your shoulders. What you do have is alcohol. It’s always been there for you when you’ve needed it. In the past, you used it to socialize. Now that you’re a mom, you use it to cope with the stress that parenthood brings.
Deep down, you know it’s not serving you and that you’d be better off without it. But you feel stuck. You stay in that stuck feeling because you don’t know another way. You don’t know that a life without alcohol is possible, and you’re scared at the thought of losing it. It’s the one thing you can control, even though you know it’s controlling you. You know that it’s wrong to hide your drinking, but you see celebrities online who do it, and everyone thinks it’s funny. Seeing the comments with wine emojis and other moms that say they feel seen endorses your behavior. You feel seen too. You’re so glad you’re not the only one who drinks around their kids.
At the same time, you wonder if everyone is struggling with it like you are. You wonder if the other moms get a little too drunk sometimes like you do. You pause for a moment and think. For a moment you wonder what a life would be like without alcohol. You quickly snap out of it. You don’t have the time to think about that, there’s no time for you to think about your wants and needs. So you open up your Instagram, and pour yourself a glass of wine.
Imagine for a minute that you’re a child. It’s Saturday morning and you’re so excited to play in a soccer game today. Soccer is your favorite sport. You’re even more excited that your mom comes to watch you play. You feel so lucky. Before you leave the house you see your mom fill up her coffee mug. What’s that in there?, you wonder. You don’t know but you don’t think it’s coffee. When you get to the game you run onto the field. During the game you look over to your mom and see that she’s not paying attention. She looks like she’s having fun though, laughing with the other moms. They have coffee mugs too. You wonder if they have coffee in it or if it’s filled with something else like your mom’s is. After your game, your mom is acting a little bit different. You know this side of her, you’ve seen her this way before. Sometimes she’s fun when she’s this way, and sometimes she’s scary. You don’t know which kind of mom she’ll be today but you hope that it’s the good kind. You grab your bag and get into the car.
Molly – please consider using your platform responsibly
Oh, Molly, I wish you could see the harm that your posts are causing. I know it’s not your fault…but it is your responsibility. It’s not your fault because we live in a society that glamorizes alcohol. Booze is everywhere. It’s there every time we turn around, which is why it’s so hard for people to get away from it. It’s your responsibility because you’ve got a platform. A platform that could be used for good, but instead, you are using it to normalize harmful behaviors like hiding drinking and drinking around our kids. You’re sending a message to parents that kids are a reason to drink alcohol. You’re using your platform to make a joke out of people’s struggles.
Booze is killing us. It’s ruining lives everyday. It’s making parents miss important parts of their children’s lives.
I want you to think of that struggling mom. Think of that innocent child the next time you post something with alcohol at the center of it. When you joke about hiding your drinking, I want you to remember this letter. I want you to wake up.
With love,
A mom who’s been there
Tropicana Hides Mimosas in Secret Fridges to Give Busy Parents a Break and The Sober Community Loses Their S#$T!!!
TROPICANA PAGE SIX FROM 2020: https://pagesix.com/2020/12/15/tropicana-ad-encouraging-drinking-in-secret-in-poor-taste/
THE FACTS OF AF LIFE: You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you have THE FACTS OF (AF) LIFE. So you’re sober, now what? Well, you’re in the right spot. This is the place to be for all things AF (alcohol-free) living. Remember we’re sober, not boring!
Resources are available
Resources Are Available
If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.
