RE: Hey Gorgeous! The Self Forgiveness Challenge
Your post made me cry while I was reading it. Forgiveness is really powerful. I try my best not to carry any emotional baggage around that weighted me down.
Just like you, I had issues with my dad growing up. I hated being alone with him. We had nothing to talk about. He always worked long hours when I was growing up, so I never spent much time with him. Now that I am older, I can see that I was only seeing things from my eyes. I was too stupid and young to understand he had to work such long hours not because he wanted to, but because he needed to support us and he wanted to provide us with the things that he never had growing up. About eight years ago, my dad called me out of the blue to apologize for not being there for me. I apologized to him for being a shit head growing up. We forgave each other and ever since then, we have had the best relationship! I tell him everything and when I run into issues in life, he is the first one I call.
Forgiveness is what allows us to move on. Forgiving yourself is even more powerful. Thank you for sharing your story. It brought tears to my eyes.
Awww thank you. It is strange how our view of parents is so different when we are children. Partly because of outside influences and partly down to thinking differently than adults.
How beautiful that your dad called you to apologize and you apologizing to him. I bet he wasn't expecting that and he probably didn't even think you'd done anything wrong, just as you probably weren't aware that he was conscious of his long work hours and how much he sacrificed seeing his family in order to provide for them.
Yes forgiveness sure is a powerful thing :-) <3 xx