Flirty dances with younger men, passing out in our shed… my mother-in-law’s a baby boomer alcoholic but only I admit it
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IT'S widely accepted that alcohol flows freely during the festive period, although it can be a surprise to see your in-laws' inner party animals come out. But when do you need to realise that the drinking has gone too far?. And how do you cope with an incapacitated in-law?.
![[One man struggles to cope with his mother-in-law's excessive drinking - while the rest of the family are happy to turn a blind eye.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2GGGM0Mjpg-JS961285986.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
From cutting them out at Christmas to confronting them for crossing your boundaries, it can be a tough and sometimes painful situation to navigate. He wrote: "The truth is, Kathy is an alcoholic. The problem is that no one apart from me – not Kathy, not her hen-pecked husband Brian and certainly not my wife Emma – is willing to admit it.
![[It can be difficult to have a conversation with your elders about their drinking habits.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2GFYAMRjpg-JS961285983.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
"And this unwillingness to address the obvious is now causing problems within my marriage.". Luke goes on to talk about the day he married Kathy's daughter, Emma, in 2004. He says this was where he realised Kathy's alcohol consumption 'went beyond the norm'.
"Before then, I had only seen her for dinners and lunches where, though she did drink, we were in each other's company for only a few hours.". Luke said he saw Kathy throwing drinks back all evening at the nuptials - eventually finishing more than him, Emma and his parents combined.
"Later, as she [Kathy] enthusiastically took to the dance floor with one of my ushers, a chap young enough to be her son, I nudged Emma, who just rolled her eyes and said: 'Welcome to the family, that's my mum for you.'". Luke said he was shocked by Kathy's behaviour - having come from a family who didn't include much alcohol in their lives.
