Connect
← Return to Son estranged due to controlling spouse
Discussion
Son estranged due to controlling spouse
Just Want to Talk | Last Active: 4 days ago | Replies (93)Comment receiving replies
This might be an aside, and I don't intend to hijack the thread, but I wonder:
Is it possible to be happy for someone without needing to participate?
While my father was alive, he was proud to be a parent who'd raised a good son. He and I talked a lot, but he never interfered or offered unsolicited advice about my marriage. About his last words to me were, "Take care of that girl." He was proud of me, and I have always been proud to be his son. I thought that was wonderful.
If you have an adult child who's happy and successful, isn't that enough satisfaction? It's quite an accomplishment. If that's not enough, what would be?
I recognize that some people are from strong families, while others (like me) aren't close. So please help me understand.
Replies to "This might be an aside, and I don't intend to hijack the thread, but I wonder:..."
Connect
Ya have to feel it, I guess.
For me, it is a very deep wound that will be with me always. That is not b/c I need to be up in his business all the time.
I’d love to see, w/o butting in, what he’s like as a dad (they alienated me a month after their birth of my 1st grandchild). Laugh with them, do stuff for them.
And then when something like alienation happens you may hear some pretty callous stuff from them; things that can’t be unsaid, and you take inventory of what’s said and you own what is yours. Then you scratch your head and you wonder if you and that child were ever close?! I perceive it one way and he clearly sees it another, and THAT is the knife in MY heart.