My Dad wanted me to start working when I turned fifteen. He and my Uncle Al owned Expressway Lube Centers, so he put me to work as a part-time receptionist in their Danbury store. It wasn’t up to me where I worked; it wasn’t a suggestion; it was what I had to do.
Continue reading “My First Job”Right before starting back at Danbury for my junior year of High School, I had my first panic attack. I had been in summer school for math, and it came out of nowhere! I had no idea what was happening. So I asked to use the bathroom and immediately rushed to call my Dad.
Continue reading “Panic Attacks”When I turned fifteen I had a small party. Veteran’s Day is after my birthday so we always had the day off from school. They used to have teen nights at an old club called Tuxedo Junction right off of Main Street.
I was really excited to be moving in with my Dad; it meant leaving the town I loathed so much, and going back to Danbury where I wanted to be in the first place. It felt like I was leaving all that was bad behind. I had really high hopes that everything would be different, better.
Continue reading “Condo”
Today is my Dad’s birthday, and I realized you should probably meet the man who I consider the “real” Steven Louis Chance. The man behind the addiction. Who he was when sober. I want you to meet the kind, loving man we all adored so much. The man I always hoped would stick around.
Continue reading “Meet The Man Behind The Addiction”During my parents’ separation/divorce, I started to catch onto something I very much disliked.
Continue reading “Him”Depression has been something I’ve struggled with since Middle School. I’ve always been an emotional kid and adult, so maybe it even started before then. Depression wasn’t something I ever wanted to admit to myself, and it’s hard to notice when you are depressed until someone else points it out, and even th
I remember the day I told my mom to leave my dad like it was yesterday. I remember what restaurant we were at, I remember the weather, and exactly where we sat. Which is funny because many things for me fade together sometimes. It’s not always easy to remember when each relapse was especially since there were so many over the years, and again they started when I was thirteen going on fourteen. Barely a teen, so when you have 11 years worth of slips, relapses, rehab stints, etc its hard to not blend them together or lose when what happened.
Continue reading “Leave Him”Before my parents separated, my Mom decided to go back to school. She wanted a career, and I think she knew she was going to eventually leave my Dad. She was also at the time very involved with being on town committees and political parties. I still wasn’t old enough to drive, and Dad was 80% of the time drunk.
Continue reading “Coming Home”
For people who may not know much about alcoholism, there is a lot to learn. Even I am learning more and more as I do more research. I’d like to first start with the warning signs. This list comes from alcorehab.org. I have done a good deal of research, and this website is a fantastic source if you want to know more.
Continue reading “Warning Signs Of Alcoholism”