Michael St Peter

How my Dad became my Bestfriend

Hello readers, my name is Michael St. Peter and I am from a very small town in Northern America. I grew up in a lower middle class home, was a very quiet kid. My mother was a CNA and my Father was in the military, and also worked as an electrician at the time. I had a fair childhood, did okay in school, but I went through something that I believe most can relate to. My parents divorced when I was just 12 years old, I remember feeling angry, sad, and very unsure of what was going on at this point in my life. My mother moved away from our home town to a town 15 miles away where she met an amazing man named Chad, who is now my step father. My dad stayed in our home town, and met a lady named Jeanne. Growing up my dad liked to drink, a lot more than what he could handle. He would get drunk and fight with my mom for hours while I watched. This new girl he met loved to drink, and made his drinking worse. When I was 14 my dad was drinking to the point of alcoholism, he would yell at me whenever I would visit him, get in my face, and all I could do is stand there and take it. I was scared every time I went there to visit fearing that if I said something that he did not want to hear from that he would mentally shoot me down with his yelling. Him and Jeanne got into fights and she was hitting and abusing him on the daily. I still believe to this day he took all of that anger from her out on me, I eventually would start speaking up to him and we got into a couple fights. I felt trapped, and that I could not escape, it got to the point where he was hiding his alcohol in different spots and every time he "used the bathroom" he would come out more and more drunk than before he went in. One night me and my sister were over there for the weekend and he was the drunkest I have ever seen him. He was yelling at me and trying to challenge me to a fight even if I said one word to him, I sat there quite while the onslaught of words and spit hit my face until I had enough. I got up and said "I'm walking out of here and I do not want to see you ever again!" I walked out and ran to a nearby store where I used there phone to call my grandfather to come get me, and after 15 minutes he was there. When he showed up he hugged me, tears dripping down his shirt, he comforted me and said it would be okay and that my father had a lot of learning to do and needed help. I did not see my father for 5 months after that, no contact at all. When it was time to see him again it was awkward, we stared at each other for a solid minute then he asked how I was doing, and I said good. He hugged me for a solid 5 minutes, and said sorry for what he had put me through mentally and physically and said he was getting help and therapy. My father has been sober since June 6th, 2017, our relationship has healed into something beautiful. We talk everyday now and we play disc golf together and do a lot of things together. I love my dad and I always have, I just wanted him to be the father I wanted growing up, and most importantly to be okay and happy. He left his ex girlfriend Jeanne and met a wonderful lady, my step mom Leslie, and she is the greatest thing that has ever happened to him. He is so happy and I am so happy that I have him in my life in such a positive way now. My father is a strong man, he overcame the addiction for his kids, and for everyone that he was toxic to. If anyone out there is struggling with a parent that is addicted to anything, please seek out for help for them, talk to me, talk to someone. There is light at the end of the tunnel and there are happy endings. Live life to the fullest with no regrets or hatred to others and accept everyone, treat people like you would like to be treated and remember if you are suffering from something whether it addiction or mental health there is help for you, seek it, YOU are amazing and life is amazing.