This is about Emily’s journey of not giving up on an alcoholic husband. She stuck to Mark, through life’s thick and thin, and supported him till he pulled himself out of the addiction. Let’s find out what she has to say about her love story.
“I met Mark at a common friend’s reunion party. He was an army specialist and was posted in Iraq at that time. Soon we exchanged numbers, and though he was far away from me, we were constantly in touch. He had a tough life there in Iraq, however, Cupid was knocking at our doors, and I think the long distance just made us crave for each other more. We soon fell in love, and the next time that he came to U.S., we got married, and even started a family together.
Soon again he had to return to Iraq, and this time the combats were fierce; so much, that it had taken a complete toll on him. He retired after that, and came back home. But he wasn’t the Mark I knew, and had got married to. He had taken into alcohol because of the post-traumatic stress, and his entire behavior pattern had changed.
I remember George was 3 then, I was 7months pregnant and was expecting Julia, and late in the night, Mark showed up from the bar and started banging the door heavily. He did it so hard, the door was on the verge of breaking! It scared the wits out of me and George! The poor kid clung to me as hard as he could, for he was scared of his own Daddy! I shouted and persuaded Mark to calm down. This continued for a long time, and I must confess, it was really, really very hard to keep up with his changed behavior or let’s day, his alcoholic nature.
I would cry myself to sleep, and I think it was acting on my physical and emotional health too. I thought to myself, my children and I’ve had enough, and the situation needed a change. I decided to talk to Mark (when he was in a sober state), and trust me, he cried! He cried because he was going through a lot, and was mentally drained. He wept and asked me for help. I persuaded him to join a rehab, and yes he agreed. I scolded myself “Why hadn’t I talked to him earlier”? But as they say, “better late than never”.
He was in the rehab when Julia was born, and he had seen her only once, till he returned home 2 years later. I was worried, if the two would bond well. Children can be unpredictable after all. But praise the Lord, when Mark stepped in our home completely fit and alcohol-free, Julia was the first one to go and hug him. I think all my worries partially came to an end with that scene.
He asks me why I didn’t leave him. I only have one answer “it’s easy to break off a relation, but very difficult to work on it, and make it a better one”. I chose the latter, and it was the best decision I had made. Today we are a happy family of four, and God has really been kind. Mark owns a supermarket, and is doing really well in his business. I’m his personal assistant! (winks)…”as told to The Daily Brunch.
Disclaimer: The names have been changed. The image is for representational purposes only and do not represent the real life characters. The Daily Brunch reserves the rights to withhold the information about the identity of the aforementioned characters.
Image Credits: Shutterstock
