Mormons are weird. A "peculiar people" if you will. There are plenty of misconceptions about members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but one thing people seem to have down-pat is that we "don't do coffee, tea, alcohol or drugs." And boy have we capitalized on that, which has great benefits! Cutting these things out has great health benefits, but we can oftentimes alienate people with these practices if done in a non-Christ-like manner (which unfortunately happens all too often). This is especially important for the sake of the relationship between my mom, who drinks, and her future grandchildren.
Now let me tell you something about my mom. There's really no better way to describe my mom than a total bad a**. Pardon my French, but really, she's intense. In the past 18 years, she's torn her ACL 3 times playing basketball with college kids (the most recent time being 2 summers ago-- you do the math). When I was 8, she planned the most epic pirate-themed treasure hunt for the 2nd grade picnic and they've used the same treasure hunt ever since. She got sick of people looking into her yard, so she built a 12 foot fortress--I mean fence-- around her yard by herself. And, she is literally a rocket scientist (so yes, my brother and I always had the best science fair projects, whether the judges knew it or not). She also happens to like a glass of wine with dinner.
Our future kids seriously have it made. First, there's Grant's parents: the traditional grandparents who'll bake cookies and sing songs and buy them matching PJs for Christmas. And then there is my mom: their edgy grandma who'll build them tree houses if they produce a lego prototype and make them hilarious (albeit slightly offensive) halloween costumes and teach them you can always swear when you're playing basketball.
See, all these things I've listed are things I want my kids to talk about. I don't want them to get hung up on the fact that she likes her morning coffee and she likes to have a beer every now and then.
Now let's get one thing straight: I'm in no way condoning alcohol and addictive substances. I know better than anyone else the devastating effects of addiction on the mind, the body, and the spirit. But I can appreciate those who drink responsibly-- like my mom. I've never even seen my mom slightly buzzed and she refuses to drive even after one glass of wine. I can also appreciate that although she does drink coffee and alcohol, she treats her body like a temple-- which we all should. And there are more ways to trash a body than just coffee, tea, alcohol, and drugs.
I think one of Satan's greatest tricks is making us believe that the Word is Wisdom is one thing when in reality it is a whole variety of things. We sometimes forget that the World of Wisdom is not just "We don't do coffee, tea, alcohol, and drugs." It's about exercising, getting enough sleep, and eating healthy foods. Good for you for not smoking, but sitting on your couch eating fried chicken all day while avoiding the sun can be just as harmful (you're welcome for the mental image, BTW).
Above all else, I want to emphasize to my children that people are worth far more than their shortcomings and the mistakes they make. That my children are worth far more than their shortcomings and the mistakes they make. The way Christ taught was not about justifying your own sins by pointing out those of others-- those people were called Pharisees and Jesus didn't like them very much. So why do we study our scriptures and say our prayers only to look down our noses at our coworker's morning cup of coffee as we crack open our third Mountain Dew at 7:30am?
I have this vision of how this will all come to fruition. I imagine my child at the park, playing, when some skinny little twerp will notice my kid's grandma is drinking a cup of coffee. "Your grandma is going to hell for drinking coffee", they'll say, to which my child-- channeling their inner Gramma Sue-- will respond, "Well, your grandma is pretty fat, so I guess she can say hi."