I’ve realised I can’t keep drinking like the world is ending

Across the country parents are panic drinking their feelings.

I’m not proud to admit it but I’m also not ashamed to say that I am one of those parents.

I’m drinking to escape and it’s different from other times I’ve used alcohol as a crutch.

I’m drinking to escape the fear that if something happens to my parents or grandma in Western Australia’s closed borders, I will be streaming their funeral on Zoom from NSW.

I’m drinking to escape the decision to send my kids back to school and preschool.

A decision we’ve made with calculated risk because socially and emotionally it’s the best thing for them – but at the same time, knowing we will potentially be exposed to the virus and what could come from that.