“I felt like she chose the alcohol over me.”
Nicki Willis spent much of her life watching her mom, Darlene, sink into alcoholism.
“I didn’t talk to her for almost a year. I felt like she wasn’t my mom anymore. It’s heartbreaking to know that my mom chose the alcohol over me.”
Darlene came to the UGM Center for Women and Children to participate in the women’s recovery program. June 2014, she relapsed, but she later returned with new determination. And in the midst of recovery, she reconnected with her daughter.
“We arranged a date for Nicki to come and visit me. And she was stunned at the fact that I was sober, and I didn’t get so angry anymore. I was cognizant, I could speak and not worry about cursing…my whole demeanor had changed.”
Nicki says, “I didn’t know that she was sober, because I didn’t believe her…I have a hard time believing, I have to see it. And when I saw her, it was crazy. It was crazy how she acted. It’s nice to know that my mom is back again. That she isn’t controlled by a beverage.”
Seeing how much her mom changed, Nicki made a decision.
“I moved [to the Center] January 25th.”
“When she came to stay, it was a safe environment,” says Darlene. “She knew that I made a commitment to this program, and I made a commitment to her and my other daughters that I was gonna change.”
Now, both mother and daughter are healing.
Nicki describes her own past struggles. “I would just run away from my problems, and I’d go off drinking or smoking with my friends, or I’d cut myself. But I’m better now, and I’m trying to learn how to cope with things like through writing. I want to be able to just pick up a pencil and write down everything bothering me.”
Nicki forgave her mom and feels they are a team, helping one another recover. Darlene doesn’t take Nicki’s forgiveness and trust lightly.
“I’m committed as a mother to my three daughters, and I am so sorry for the mistakes that I have made. I’m gonna strive to follow Jesus and do what’s right. And I want to continue moving forward and constantly embracing everything that God has to offer us.”
Looking forward to the future, Nicki says, “I’m really excited to know that my mom is better and that she is a true member of society, not what society wants her to be, but she makes society better.”
Please pray for continued healing for both Darlene and Nicki and in their recently restored relationship.