‘I always have to explain why I don’t drink’
Image: Getty Images
When Diana Park orders Coke instead of a glass of wine at a party, she is invariably asked why she doesn’t drink alcohol. And that may well be the end, she thinks.
“The first time anyone asked why I don’t drink alcohol was on my son’s first birthday,” Diana writes in her blog. “We were having a party in the garden and after a few minutes a friend of my husband’s asked where the drink was. I pointed to a table with apple juice, water, soda and coffee, but he didn’t mean that. He wanted something with alcohol. When I told them I didn’t have that in the house, he asked who is now giving a children’s birthday without alcohol.”
terrible hangovers
Diana hadn’t thought for a second about getting alcohol. Her son turned one, they were trying to get pregnant again and she couldn’t remember the last time she had a drink. In the years that followed, when she had two more children, she only drank a glass of wine every now and then. “As I got older, it felt like alcohol affected me more than others. I slept badly and the next day I had a terrible hangover. I was grumpy, tired and lifeless. I soon came to the conclusion that I didn’t like alcohol enough to give up my good night’s sleep for it.”
Also read: Toast without a hangover: 8 x the best non-alcoholic cocktails
That explanation again and again
Although Diana did not necessarily want to publicize her choice to stop drinking, she was constantly asked about it. “At parties I was often the only one who didn’t drink, and everyone wanted to know why. They asked if I had a drinking problem or if I was allergic. They also recommended all kinds of drinks that wouldn’t give you a hangover. The answer that I didn’t drink alcohol because I didn’t like the feeling it gave me wasn’t enough for them.”
misfit
Just because Diana doesn’t drink alcohol doesn’t mean she judges people who do enjoy a glass of wine. “I used to enjoy that too, but that’s not the case anymore. Still, I feel like the odd one out all the time, because everyone is commenting about it.” She closes her blog with some advice. “See someone who doesn’t drink? Don’t ask why. Don’t tell her to break free and don’t try to persuade her to have a drink anyway.”
Source: Scary Mommy
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