It was 20 years ago, but I remember well how a few drinks seemed to make running errands and enduring cranky kids go much more smoothly. I thought it helped me be more patient and flexible. I found out later, when my sons were teenagers, that my “patience” had caused me to put up with more than I should have, not setting enough limits.
An article at Working Mother, says that “the number of women ages 30 to 44 who report abusing alcohol has doubled over the past decade.” 
Many of these women are able to hide their drinking for a while, juggling jobs and carpools, not wanting to admit that they are having a hard time trying to be everything for everybody. “More and more, we hear about successful women hiding a dark secret.” If they can wait that long, the kids’ bedtime is “wine o’clock.”
According to mental health counselor Heidi Jacobsen, not only are women more likely to hide their addiction than men, but unfortunately “they’re also less likely to seek treatment than men because they worry about the people who depend on them. . . They can’t lose their job, their home and their children.”