Rememberment, Chapter XVII: All Things in Moderation

There was once an incident - two drunken men came to our home and started ranting about something. I'm not sure who they were, but I have a vague memory that they might have been Dad's old acquaintances. What I do remember more clearly is how swiftly they were escorted out. Neither my dad nor my mom tolerated drunkenness in the house.

Tapio sometimes showed up drunk after partying with his friends, and when he did he was properly scolded for it. Ari and Esa got drunk too sometimes, but I can't remember seeing them that way when I was little; I think they either just quietly went to bed after a night of partying, or stayed at someplace else until they sobered up.

I didn't like seeing people drunk either and when me and Dad once had a talk about the subject, I told him I would never drink. But Dad wasn't as strict about alcohol as one might think. "There's nothing wrong with drinking alcohol" he said. "But it is a drink for the wise, and one must know their limits".

And indeed, he sometimes had a little nightcap himself. I do believe he got some brandy as a present for his 50th birthday as well. Seeing Mom with a drink was more rare, but that happened too sometimes. She loved the cloudberry liqueur someone bought her for Christmas once.

I can also remember an evening when we were all watching a movie together. Ari had a bottle of beer, and asked if I wanted to have a taste. Mom frowned a bit at the idea, saying that a child's liver cannot handle alcohol. But Dad said that such a little amount of beer won't hurt. 

I'd had homebrew beer before but this new taste was different. I didn't like it and returned the bottle to Ari, who said that beer is something one needs to learn how to enjoy. I didn't see the point though. Why would you want to learn to like something that simply tastes bad?

However, as some of my readers may testify, I did in fact learn how to like it eventually.

Still, of all the things my father taught me, one I still very much agree with is that drinking is alright as long as you know your limits. Which is why I'm only a little hungover as I'm writing this.

Have a great week!