Drink Less, Come Home Early

Marriage is a war between a man and a woman, and also a war between two different families. I thought that enduring humiliation and shouldering every burden would win me that war, but the result was that we both ended up shattered. He was ruined by ignoring the rules and thinking he knew best, while I was left alone at home, physically and emotionally exhausted, and utterly broken. Whenever he went out, I would tell him, “Don’t drink too much, and come home early.” He always promised, but on countless nights when I called, he rarely answered, and when I texted, he rarely replied. It would be the middle of the night, or even later, before he stumbled home drunk, either snoring loudly or causing such a drunken uproar that the whole household was thrown into chaos. I once told his parents, hoping they would talk some sense into him. His father replied, “I have to drink a couple of ounces every day, too.” His mother said, “What man doesn’t drink or smoke?”