License to Parent

Really, one should be required.
Last night, one of my co-workers had a Christmas party for all of our other co-workers and the volunteers we work with. This lady who used to work at the museum, but before I started working there, came to the party, and brought along her nine-year-old daughter--to a party that everyone knew was going to involve a lot of drinking.
But that wasn't the worst of it. The woman proceeded to get completely smashed while her little girl sat in the corner, watching TV and looking miserable. We didn't realize quite how smashed she was getting, because she went from acting a little buzzed to barely being able to walk within a few minutes. Meanwhile, we notice the little girl heading through the kitchen to the living room looking like she's about to start crying. Her mom followed her to "check on her," but was back to drinking a minute later. And... the woman had driven there and was planning to drive home.
At this point I'd had too much to drink to drive myself, so I found the party's host, who'd only had a drink or two, and told him that she was going to need a ride home. So he and I took the girl and her mom home together. I sat in the back with the little girl, who had tears streaming down her face, and tried to talk to her about anything--school, whatever--to distract her. From her reaction, it was clear that she's seen mom tanked many times. When we got to the house, the little girl had to help her mom get her keys out of her purse, and I had to help her to the door. At the door, she stumbled on the step, falling into me and knocking me over so that I almost knocked the little girl completely over.
I cannot remember the last time I have been so furious and upset. I just wanted to hug that little girl and tell her everything would be ok, but I knew it probably wouldn't be. More than that, I wanted to leave the mom to stumble her own way into the house and to bed and take the little girl with me. I may be barely making ends meet, but I could take better care of her than that woman.